Hey stranger,
I'm fly-in fly-out, two-on one-off, fourteen years in. The money's good and the work suits me, but the loneliness is real.
For years I dealt with it the way most blokes on site do: kept busy, had a beer, and told my wife I was fine. Then a bloke in my room said something I haven't forgotten: “On this site we are good at being busy. We are terrible at being honest. Pick one.”
So I started writing to my wife on every swing. On paper, sealed in an envelope, posted from camp. I tell her how I actually am, not how I'm meant to be. Some letters she reads. Some I never send. The writing is still the point.
If the loneliness is wearing you down, write something to someone. You don't have to send it. The honesty just needs somewhere to land.
— Ash