Constantly Missing

Is it possible to miss someone who is sitting right next to you? Have you ever said goodbye to someone and immediately started missing her before she was even out of your sight?

miss /mɪs/ –verb (used with object)
1.to feel, suffer or regret the absence or loss of

My household is all too familiar with the above definition. All of our extended family is out of state so we are pretty much in a constant state of missing (or feeling the absence of) family members.

But yesterday Caelleb reminded me that there is a whole other side of this verb. He and I had just said goodbye to Tia after having her for a long weekend. She wasn't even out of our sight yet as we watched Bryndyn walk her up to her mother's front door. Caelleb let out a long sigh and whispered, "I miss Tia." I started to say something lighthearted like, "she just left us" or "we'll see her soon," but realized I'd only be fooling myself. In truth, Caelleb had just verbalized exactly how I felt at that moment.

I know I don't write much, anymore, about the new role we play in Tia's life. I guess part of me feels like people don't want to hear about that heartache anymore, or that everyone assumes because we have Tia on most weekends that all is well in that regard. It's true, the transitions back and forth have gotten much easier. Tia no longer cries when she leaves our house (though she does whine & argue about not wanting to leave). We've managed to develop a positive relationship with her mother. Definite progress. But for Bryndyn, Caelleb & I weekends just aren't enough. She is part of us and when she is absent our family is incomplete, we miss her, terribly. And sometimes that missing starts before she is even gone. . .