Alison's work schedule is, at times, a real challenge for me. On her month of nights, she'd be at home and awake from about noon to 5pm and then gone or asleep for the rest of the day. Some mornings I'd even crawl back into bed for a nap while she was sleeping just so we could be together.

I know that with her chosen profession there are going to be a lot of hours required on her part. I also know that, in a way, it helps us to be more diligent about spending time together. We don't take hours for granted because they're not stable. We can’t count on 5pm being the end of the work day.

We have a limited amount of time with our wives. Perhaps in your home both of you work, thus further limiting the amount of time you have to spend together. It's important to find alone time to keep your marriage strong. You both must balance all of the demands on your time and carve out both family and couple time. The bottom line is that if you're not intentional about making time to be together, it just won't happen.

Absence truly makes the heart grow fonder. In our case, I do all that I can to work while Alison is at work. That means that when she's home, I don't have anything weighing on my mind or a to do list that's demanding immediate action. I'm able to give myself permission to just relax and do whatever Alison wants. This is why Sunday is the perfect day to spend time together. When you work hard for six days of the week, you get to rest on Sunday. When both you and your wife have a down day, you're able to literally spend the whole day together if you choose.

Steal little moments. Make dinner together or clean the kitchen together. Work on a craft project, yard cleanup, or home improvement project. Adjust your children's sleep schedule to give you time for a movie before bed. Look for new opportunities to be alone together so that when you're apart, you can be satisfied knowing you made good use of the time you did have together.

Being away from your wife is hard. By being a good steward of your time together and by completing tasks and projects while you're away, you can make the time that you have together truly special.

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