1 Mother 2 Another

My family has been incredibly fortunate in
that Brian’s job requires almost zero travel for work; in
addition, he works less than two miles from our house and so is
often home for lunch, can have lunch with the girls at school, and
can slip out of work to see a school play or something.


In short, the girls see their daddy a LOT. And are quite used to
it.


So when Brian told the girls he had to make a three-day trip this
week, they seemed unfazed at the announcement. But in retrospect, I
think they simply didn’t understand. He traveled once (ONCE!)
last year and we survived pretty well, so I figured we’d have
a few “I miss Daddy!” at bedtime but would otherwise
soldier on. Brian gave each girl a hug and kiss Monday morning and
sent them off to school, not to be seen again until LATE tonight.


When I picked Cora up after school Monday, she seemed distracted
and out of sorts. I began questioning her gently, trying to see
what went wrong with her day, but everything sounded like it went
“great” or was “a lot of fun”. Finally,
Cora turned to me impatiently.


“If you’re wondering why I’m having a hard
time,” she said astutely, “it’s because I really
thought I’d see Daddy one more time! I really need to give
him one last snuggle!”


And she burst into tears.

Cora cried the whole way home, and when I
finally got hold of Brian on the phone and he was able to talk to
her, she said, “Daddy, when you’re gone, it’s
like if my Silky (lovey) is gone.”


And burst into tears again.


Cora’s been quite hard hit by Brian’s absence, and is
weepy and crabby from the moment she gets out of school until the
moment she finally falls to sleep, exhausted from her emotional
rollercoaster. Brian’s sent her messages and called her many
times, but she’s still barely hanging by a thread.


I pick him up at the airport tonight a good three hours after her
bedtime.


I fully expect her to be waiting up for us when we get home.