I guess it's a mom thing

We all survived my trip away. I only cried in the car driving away. I only called home 3 times (all on the first day). Neither of them gave me the momentous, dramatic homecoming welcome that I felt was warranted. In my mind this was like a return from 3 weeks in Nepal. But it was 3 days in Richmond. David said taking care of her for 3 days was "nothing special". Okay then, that put me back in reality! I guess, knowing him, that means it went well. But every mother I talk to knows what I went through. The baby isn't the only one who gets separation anxiety. I can't describe the feelings any better than: it just feels wrong to be away. It's not an intellectual problem. I guess it's loneliness, but it's a version that's kind of visceral.

The second day and night I was fine, I think. What helped was keeping busy - mainly, keeping my brain busy. I was taking a class that was intellectually stimulating and I was meeting interesting people. When I woke up without her, it also helped to watch a couple minutes of "Teletubbies" which gave me a little dose -- a quick trip through toddler land -- and made me smile. Only a couple minutes though. That was enough.