Missing Matt

Tonight I miss my husband.

Expat life has been very good to us. The kids are going to a top-notch private school. We've traveled to exotic destinations. We haven't had the stress and heartache of those at home facing a scary job market. 


However, it also has its downsides. We're far away from family and friends. We can't be there during a crisis. We miss the details of our family and friends lives.


This year, we've also dealt with distance from one another. Not just emotional or intellectual, but 7,000 miles of physical distance. In the last 12 weeks, we've only spent 18 days together. Skype is an amazing invention but it just isn't quite the same. 


I miss Matt. I want to talk to him for longer than a few minutes here or there.  I want to share the boring details of my day with him (not just the highlights) and things like the cleanup of the kitchen, making school lunches, and putting the kids to bed.


We've stayed busy with homework, play dates, and birthday celebrations. I look forward to little things like coffee at Tully's, lunch with friends and even to catching up on old episodes of "True Blood" he's already seen.

I've gotten myself involved in a few projects, set some goals, and done the kinds of things I’m supposed to do to make the time go faster.  To help myself forget that I miss him. 

It doesn't really work. I still miss him.  I want the coffee he pours me each morning, his daily goodbye kiss  and seeing his smile as I relate the kids' latest adventures.  I still want snuggle on the couch at the end of the day and feel his warm body next to me at night.

I want to laugh with him.  I want to have him listen while I  whine.  I want to see him smile when Katie rushes to him yelling "Daddy!" as he arrives home, and I want to share  the exhaustion and anxiety that comes along with the job of parenting too.

I miss him. 

Just one more week until we're both back home, back on the same side of the planet, back in each others arms. 7 more days.

I can't wait!