Together Again.

For seven weeks, the children and I traveled the breadth of the country, spending time with family and friends. Yoni had a 2 1/2 month deployment, and rather than stay home without him for such a long time, we decided to let the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins have a good time with the kiddos in Aba's absence. Being away from home actually made the time pass extremely quickly! Before I knew it, we flew back home with only a couple days left to await Yoni's return.

While he has gone on short trips before, this was the first time (in Adina's memory at least) that he has been away for a significant period of time. As an adult and a Mom, I quickly adapted and learned how to deal with his absence. I missed him and thanked G-d every day for Skype, but we went about our lives. One of the hardest things about him being gone was watching Adina miss her Aba. She is too young to understand where he went and why. She is too young to realize that his absence was finite, and with G-d's help he would be returning home soon. Thankfully, kids are resilient and distractable, so it didn't upset her constantly. But those moments when she saw his picture and reached out her arms, with all her heart, craving a hug from her Aba... those moments I will never forget.

And the day he came home, all day she sat in his arms. Each time she woke up from a nap or a good night's sleep, within two seconds of opening her door, I heard, "Aba huggie? Yea? Aba!"

There is so much to take away from this experience.

First of all, I love observing the purity in her emotions. As a two year-old, every single feeling in her little body comes out in action. Her hugs are filled with love. Her cries resonate a deep sadness.
As we grow up and mature out of this innocent "wear emotions on your sleeve" phase, sometimes emotions get too good at hiding. We are taught to act with proper decorum according to a given situation, and train ourselves to keep emotions on the inside.

From my daughter, I learn that it's ok to jump up and down when something is really exciting. It's ok to run and give a big hug to someone you haven't seen in a long time. It's ok to sit down and be sad if something is disappointing.

Maybe this very trait is why little children are so distractable. Once they have expressed the emotion, they can move on. It doesn't fester. I miss Aba. That makes me sad. But, oh - look at that fun slide over there - let's go play!

If as an adult, we allow ourselves to acknowledge and express each emotion, life could attain a beautiful balance...