"Up" was a downer..............

On Friday nights, I like to pop some popcorn and watch a movie with the kids. It's a good way for us to reconnect after their long week at school and I also like to give the kids a chance to stay up a little later than on school nights. The kids have enjoyed this tradition, that is, until last night.

I had ordered the Pixar movie "Up" from Netflix some time ago but it has been sitting around for the better part of a month. I decided that last night was a good time to watch it.

I have to preface this by saying that Sophia is very easily frightened by movies while Keenan usually remains pretty unruffled, especially if Colin or I are nearby.

Keenan and I were enjoying "Up" and Sophia was predictably a little less enthusiastic. But as the movie got about 3/4 the way through, Keenan started to inch closer to me, which is not unusual during tense scenes. However, when the dogs turned vicious again, and the bad man was trying to hurt Kevin and his friends, Keenan came unglued, and Sophia quickly followed suit. I could not turn the movie off fast enough for them. Even after the T.V. doors were shut, Keenan was repeatedly wailing "I miss Daddy" and tears were streaming down his sweet little face. I felt so bad because it is so unlike him. It took a long time to get everyone calmed down. I'm still not entirely sure what triggered his anxiety but today, he did tell me that he wanted Daddy there to protect him when he was scared.

So Honey, you truly do not need worry that your kids are so used to you being away that they no longer need you. If anything, your absences cause them to need you all the more. I'm sure that's not much comfort but I thought you should know.