In August, my wife went down to Charlotte to visit my mother, dropping off Lydia at Carol’s parents’ house on the way. Lydia’s cousins were there for much of that time. This meant that Carol didn’t see Lydia for eight days, and I didn’t for nine. We did try to call her every day.
I thought early on that this would be a chance to catch up on my stuff: my reading, my TV watching, some blog stuff. But I seem to have frittered much of it away as I came to realize that I was missing having them around. I mean, I knew I’d miss them, but I didn’t know the missing would become a distraction.
Interestingly, as the period went on, Lydia, who could be taciturn on the phone, became downright verbose. It became clear to me that she really missed us, perhaps even feared that we were abandoning her. I say that because she’s been much more affectionate, physically and verbally, than she was before the trip.
It’s rather nice, but we’ve regularly reminded her of our support for her.
Happy three and a half, Lydia.
ROG
