Sweet Goodbyes - Superheros Julia, Ethan, Christian, and Elliott

It was a busy day for us today. I took off at 5:30 in the morning for a flight up to Fairbanks. Luckily I was able to carpool with a co-worker so the kids didn't have to wake up early. I was up in Fairbanks for a day long meeting and didn't get back until 7pm. That meant a long day for Rebecca, having to do everything on her own from getting the kids ready in the morning, taking them to and picking them up from school, getting dinner ready, eating, and doing our Friday night activities all without me. What made it harder though is that she had a flight out to North Carolina for a week long family reunion at 9:30 this evening. That meant she also had to pack and get ready for that and, on top of everything else, she wanted to get things ready for me so it would be a smooth trip while she was away. So we had about an hour overlap between when I got home and her flight.

All of the kids were very kind in saying their good-byes. During that hour they all made cards for Rebecca that expressed their love for their mom and told her how much they missed her. They also gave her lots of hugs and kisses. After we dropped her off at the airport I sat in the car and had a brief talk about how this could be a really fun week together for us, but we would all have to work together. I asked them what fun things they would like to do this week and Julia was the first to reply. She said that we should watch lots of home videos of Mommy and Agnes. I said that it would be fine for some, but thought if we watched too many we might just get lonely and sad. Ethan chimed in and said he didn't think we could watch too many and that was what he wanted to do too. It was a somber drive home from the airport, so looks like I will have my work cut out for me trying to keep the kids happy while mom is away. 

(I think this contrasts greatly with their reaction to me being gone for the day. A little after I got home I asked Elliott if he missed me. He said no. Trying to see if he realized I was gone, I asked him if I was there for some of the Friday activities, like playing after school, dinner, and the move. He was sure I was there for all of them. I promise I am not an absentee dad, but I guess mI'm going away is just a much bigger deal than dad being gone for the day.)

Julia, Ethan, Christian, and Elliott are all my superheros today for giving Rebecca and Agnes such a warm good-bye.