Even the Dog Gets Sad

I will preface this post by stating that we are very grateful that Colin has a good job.  I remind myself of that fact nearly every day.  Having said that, his prolonged absences have been difficult for all of us, especially the kids.  Thank goodness for Skype, I'm not sure how we would have survived without it.  At the moment, for the most part, Colin is away 20 or 21 days at a time is home 11.  Some months are worse, with him gone for 30 plus days.  Colin knows he is lucky to have a paycheck but feels like he is missing his kids growing up.  As for me, each and every time we take Colin to the airport and I watch Sophia's face crumple up the moment he leaves the car, or I hold the kids tight while they sob because they miss their Daddy so much, my heart twists and breaks a little more each time.  

I honestly don't know how military families do this and even endure far longer separations on a routine basis.  I have the utmost respect for their incredible sacrifice.

On Monday, Colin left for Japan.  This time it was my face that crumpled when he left the car and kids tried to cheer me up.  Marz accompanied us to the airport and even he looked forlorn when the door shut.  This is how he has been looking for the past three days, he gets so depressed and withdrawn when Colin leaves.  

Today we pulled out the calendar and began the count down to Daddy's return.  The upside is that when he is home, he is fully present and wants nothing more than to spend time with his family.  All of us truly treasure our time together and I hope we always remember this hard won lesson.