Someday You'll Understand What That Means

For the first six years of our daughter Josephine's life, the two of us were pretty much inseparable. For the next six years we continued to be one another's most constant companions. As she became a teenager, her friends began to supplant me, which is the way it should be, but she was still there on the mornings, evenings, and weekends.

For the past four months, she has lived in a different city on the opposite side of the country, attending university.

She is now home for five full weeks before once more winging away to her life apart from us, and I wouldn't have it any other way, but I'm sure going to cherish the diddly-o-dandy out of the next month.

Over the course of the past couple weeks, as the children have discussed their holiday plans, they've all spoken of the gifts they expect to receive, but that's something we do to them, I think, with all our talk about Santa or eight presents in eight days or whatever. It hasn't taken much digging to learn about the truly exciting thing: the travel and the travelers. 

"We're going to Colorado to see Nana and Papa!"

"Grandma is going to be sleeping in my bedroom!"

"I'm going to Sacramento see my California cousins!"

And I shared with them, "My little girl is coming home from New York!" The kids, of course, don't really get it -- the idea of living apart from mom and dad is too much for them. I spoke with several of their parents, many of whom told me about their own first holidays home from college, unconsciously assuming the perspective of the child.

I've been cooking breakfast for my girl. If you don't already, someday, far sooner than you think, you'll understand what that means.

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