far and away

It's been over a week since Jeolo and I left Riyadh and it's been pretty rough all around. All I can say is that unless you're part of a family where one or both parents work abroad while leaving the wife/husband and kids behind in their home country, you will never know the depth of the pain, sacrifice and strength it takes to be able to live life apart from one another.

On our first night back in the Philippines, Jeolo and I had to sleep over at an aunt's house because our niece in our house in Tandang Sora had just contracted chicken pox. And since I've never had it and Jeolo hasn't been vaccinated yet, there was no way we could risk exposure especially with my pregnant state. J even banned his parents from visiting us because he was afraid they'd carry the  virus along with them. We only saw my bro-in-law, Jon, who fetched us from the airport and helped me rebook our tickets for our flight to Zamboanga to the following day. We were supposed to stay in QC for a few days so we could rest a bit and gather our bearings but the husbo thought it best that we went home to my parents as soon as possible.

That night, Jeolo and I cried ourselves to sleep. I'd initially thought I was all cried out because I'd been bawling for nearly two weeks prior to our return to the Philippines but when Jeolo began calling for Dada to come home and make "tabi", I completely lost it. Our little boy cried for about 15 minutes before he finally drifted off to sleep while I kept at it until I mercifully fell asleep out of exhaustion at past midnight.

It's been an extremely difficult week emotionally for all of us. At least I have Jeolo and "baby tummy" to comfort me while J has had to deal with the silence of an empty room and the remnants of stuff we left behind. I'm extremely grateful though for the leaps in technology because despite the physical distance, we're able to talk constantly through Skype and Viber on our phones. It's not the same as being in the same room together but it beats the hell out of long distance calls, voice tapes and snail mail. I'm also consoled by the fact that he'll be flying home on the last week of May to stay for a few days. We'll be together for our anniversary, yay! :D And he's already requested for a split leave in September so he can be here with me when I give birth. :L

With God's grace and blessing, our projected two years temporary separation will whiz by and our family will be together again. For good.

Dada, we love you and miss you beyond words! 

Mood Music: Such Great Heights by Iron and Wine