So it has been over six months since I posted last. I can’t believe it has been that long but I guess time does fly especially when you’ve been busy. We’ve been VERY busy so I’ll try to give you a quick run down of what has been happening.
The main reason I’ve been so busy is a little thing called Imposed Restriction or as most people call it – IR.
IR is where the military member moves to the new location and leaves the family at the old location. My husband moved to Toronto to work at the Canadian Forces College and the kids and I remained here at CFB Trenton.
I know to many civilians this might seem crazy and this isn’t our preferred lifestyle but we did take into account many factors. If your family is considering IR, read on and see how we made our decision.
The Job
My husband’s job entails a fairly busy weekday schedule and nothing much to do on the weekends. This would allow him to come home almost every weekend.
Living Away From Home
My husband chose to live on rations and quarters. This means he has a room, similar to a hotel suite with a small fridge, coffee maker, microwave, toaster and kettle. He can eat 3 meals per day in the Officers’ Mess. Simple and easy for him.
Commute to Home
On the train, it takes 1h50 to travel from Trenton to Toronto. The cost is less than $100 per trip. The cost of the train home every weekend is less than owning a second car. Taking the train is also significantly less stressful than driving.
Children
With one kid almost done secondary school and the other almost ready to start secondary school, it wasn’t the best time for them to change schools. Also, the school here in Trenton has less than 300 kids from Jr. Kindergarten to Grade 12 – it is almost like private school! The kids know all the teachers and the teachers know all the kids. The big bonus is that our kids walk about 200 meters to school.
In Toronto, the schools are very large and the kids would not receive the one-on-one that they receive here. In Toronto, they would very likely have to take a school bus every day through Toronto traffic.
The children also have extracurricular activities they enjoy here in Trenton – ones that we could not find (or afford) in Toronto.
My Work
After being here for over 2 years, my business is doing really well. I would have to start again from scratch in Toronto. Something that I would not be interested in doing.
Disadvantages
It has been hard these last few months being a single parent all week. Between work, school and activities, sometimes I feel like I’m never home (actually I’m often NOT home which is why I have had such a hard time posting on this blog!) Also, I know the kids miss Daddy and vise versa.
Overall things are working out well but if the commute were any longer, we would have moved.
Have you done IR? How did it work out? What was your decision making process?
Canadian Army Wife 
I’m glad the commute is so short and you could make this work for your family. I know families who do it across the country from each other which in my opinion would be detrimental to the marriage. You are a strong military spouse and family. Strength be with you all and love each other a little more this holiday.
Thanks Kathleen. I don’t think we could do this if the commute for hubby was any longer than 2 hours or if we needed a 2nd car.
All the best to you and your family too!
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