I am alone in my house right now, a rare thing these days.

The kids are out of school and my husband switched out of his job last month to focus on retirement and out-processing, so he only goes into work for a short time each day.

Which means I went from spending most of my time alone to having three other people in the house, almost constantly.

I love my quiet time. I love being alone. I don’t even mind going out for lunch by myself, or shopping by myself or taking a long road trip with no other company but my iTunes playlists.

But, this is going to be my life for the next year or so as my husband retires and my family and I travel the U.S. in our fifth wheel trailer. We will be together. All the time.

I’ve thought a lot about what all that together time will mean for our family. Hopefully we will grow closer, and repair some of the bonds that have been weakened by deployments and work and stress.

I’ve thought about how my two kids might react to spending so much time together in close quarters, how my husband might need some time to get used to actually being a part of the family, and even how our cat Chuey will adapt.

What I didn’t really think about was me and what I would need to do to make this work.

I have been in charge of the household for the entire 26 years my husband and I have been married. I take care of all the finances, vehicle maintenance, and vacation planning. I deal with house hunting, vehicle shipping, loan applications and everything PCS-related.

Since we have kids, I have been, for the most part, the sole authority figure in the house. I take them to the doctor, sports practices and school. I help them make new friends and say goodbye to the old ones. I talk to them about the important things in life and feed them and make sure they have everything they need to be healthy and happy.

This is true for most military spouses I know. We all run the house, the family and get done whatever needs to be done.

I’m not saying my husband does nothing. He’s a great dad and does what he can when he can. And, obviously, he provides for us financially in a way that I could not, while at the same time serving his soldiers, their families, his commanders and his country.

That is pretty impressive. But what I’ve realized is this: I feel a sense of power and control over my household. And now that my husband is around to share the burden, I have to figure out how to let him.

I need to pull back and let him co-parent. I need to let him answer when the kids ask if they can have a sleepover with friends or go to the movies or need some money. I need to let him talk to them about the important things in life. I need to let him do his thing, even if it’s not necessarily the way I would do it.

I have a real partner in the household duties now. This is something most of us military spouses are not used to.

But once I do get used to it? I think I am going to like it.