"Now, our family is back together."

 O Happy Day! My wife is home. She was gone for nearly two weeks and the kids and I did well overall, but boy are we glad to have her back.

Donna was in Trinidad with her parents and her brother, preparing for her Dad's 80th birthday celebration. It was an important time for her and her family, both the part she has here and the part she has in Trinidad. It was a critical lesson in parenting, too. Our children, especially Hunter, were not happy to stay behind. Hunter insisted that his middle name was "Party" and that not being there was counter-intuitive if Donna wanted to make sure the party was sufficiently entertaining. Skye seemed to take things in stride, but was shocked that Donna did not plan on going to the beach when she was there. The lesson for the children was that school is important and they can't skip nearly two weeks of classes, regardless of how much we wanted to go as a family.

When I dropped Donna off at the airport, the children were a mess. I expected the tears from Hunter, but I was shocked at Skye's reaction; because apart from being very happy-go-lucky, she tends to be rather stoic when it comes to expressing sadness or hurt feelings. However, as soon as Donna walked through security to leave, she joined Hunter and began sobbing into a melt-down I wasn't prepared for.

Fortunately, I was able to make my way out of the airport without being stopped for ID, as both children were crying for Mommy. I thought to myself, some well-meaning stranger is going to stop me and ask for my relationship to these children.

So, as we fast-forward nearly two weeks,  it was precious to witness our reunion in the school yard. As she clung to both Donna and myself, Skye whispered in my ear, "Our family is back together again."

Later, as Skye sat on my lap, she told me, "When Mommy was gone, the puzzle broke. Now that she's home the piece is back and the puzzle is back together." I think that's a perfect metaphor for family's in similar situations. What I love most about that metaphor is the unity of the family, but recognition that the family is made up of its individual pieces. When one of the pieces is missing, the family is not the same.

I know that the children's reactions to her absence and joy at our reunion took Donna by surprise. I don't think we understand individually the importance each of us brings to the table until it's gone. Absence truly does make the heart grow fonder and helps us develop a conscious appreciation for the merits each one of us brings to our family. A small example was my valiant efforts at cooking Donna's french toast  or eggs and bacon like Mommy does rather than fall back on my cereal menu during our morning routine. Believe me, Donna's breakfasts are much better.

A week has passed since our reunion and Skye still talks about how much she loves and missed Donna. Now, as I prepare to leave with Hunter for a long weekend, I jokingly hope that Skye's psyche is not irreparably damaged by another separation.

What this experience has left me with is an unshakable belief that Donna and I are doing something right if our children are that affected by our absence. What a fantastic blessing we enjoy!