Bye Bye Matt

Today we had to drive Matt out to the airport so he could fly out for training in San Diego. We have all been dreading this day and were amazed how quickly it snuck up on us. Unfortunately, we had to get him to the airport at 5am, so the morning goodbyes were quick (which may have been a good thing in the long run). Matt woke us at 4:30 and Makaela and I piled into the car in our PJs. We thought Makaela would fall back asleep, but oddly, she was wide awake and taking everything in. We have been prepping her for this day, but it seems that she understood more than we gave her credit for. I was hugging Matt's arm as he drove to the airport and she tried to console me by saying "It's ok mama, I here, I here". Then when we stopped she told Matt she wanted to go on the plane with him which of course broke his heart. As we were driving home she asked where we were going and when I said home, she said, "But daddy no go home right?" Her teacher reported that she had two crying episodes at school over missing her daddy, but was able to be redirected quickly. Her friend Micah has been very attentive in bringing her tissues and wiping away her tears when she cries. How I wished I could have captured that moment on video. Regardless, this will be a very long year.