Another Goodbye

Before we knew it, the dreaded day arrived when Jeff would return to Dubai for work. The kids and I were scheduled to stay in Texas for the remainder of the summer, which meant that we would yet again be apart for about 5 weeks.

We enjoyed every last second of time with him before it was time to head to the airport. There were lots of hugs and sighs as we prepared to say goodbye. We enjoyed some frozen yogurt and had one last meal together. Whataburger, ha!

Although it was never easy, we had managed this separation before and so we naively assumed this one would be easier. Plus, the kids and I had a packed summer schedule of fun and family/friend visits to look forward to. Jeff was dreading the trip big time, but neither of us expected the goodbye to be a big deal to the kids. Oh, how wrong we were! Another round of heartbreaking hugs and tears quickly descended upon all of us at the airport, making it so much harder for Jeff to say goodbye. I can usually keep my emotions in check, but seeing my kids break down just tears me apart. After returning to the car for the ride back to our hotel, the kids just sobbed and bawled. It was awful. Jeff later texted me, "That was way harder than I thought it would be."

Luckily we had some distractions lined up for the rest of the weekend, including the business computers at our hotel, which for some strange reason became a "happy place" for the kids during our stay. I was thankful for the reprieve from sadness while Jeff made his long trip home.