Perspective Gained

Today I got confirmation on what the in-two, out-two weeks will be like. The little one did not want Daddy to come home. “Can’t he just stay in a hotel for a week?” Even at age seven, she is aware of the emotional roller coaster of having Dad home for a week and then gone again. So we discussed being so happy to see him, and then the huge let down and disappointment that she knows will come a week later when he has to go away. As the astute child said so plainly, “And in between we don’t get to spend much time with him because he has to unpack and pack and go to work!” Yes, dear. That is just how mommy feels. So we discussed it. Then the anger, door banging, and go-away shouting of the morning started to melt from her. The stuffed animal and blanket ‘ammo fort’ changed into a fort of hiding for self protection from bad feelings. I got my hugs that she was withholding like ransom for control of her feelings, and she got to escape into the peaceful bliss of Sponge Bob for an hour or so. Hey, we all need our escapes, right? My requirements are acknowledgement that it is an escape, and knowing what it is that is being escaped, to the extent that a seven year old can know it. Hmm, ice cream, avoiding paperwork, FB. I should put those requirements on myself! 7/18/09