after the fifteen minutes, it was heaven

my husband arrived last week from a 3-month work assignment abroad. it was the longest three months we've had as a family. since our baby came, it was the first time my husband and i were away from each other. it was really a struggle.

when my brother brought me and my baby to the airport to fetch daddy, i was so worried. although my baby and his dad talk (and see each other) through skype everyday, i was still worried to find out the difference it will make when they face each other again. our baby was 1 year and 1 month when his dad left and now he's grown a lot bigger and he's learned a lot including identifying people and being aloof when faced with new faces.

one of the moms in the neighbourhood experienced this also some years back. she said that the only means of communication her daughter had (as a 2 year old baby) with her father was thru a voice call. when the father came, the baby did not want to be anywhere near her father unless the mother was also there. when the mom told me about the story a few days after my husband left, i thought it was not applicable to us since my baby has access to video calls and will get to see his dad every day. i can only imagine then how painful it was for the father.

when finally our baby saw his dad, i felt so sad for my husband. the first fifteen minutes that they were together was torture for us (me and my husband). i felt how my husband felt. after being away for quite a while, i knew that the first thing he wanted to do was to embrace and kiss our baby. but the problem was, gab was shocked when he saw his dad. he stared at his dad as if puzzled why his dad has grown so big since the day before... i guess he became used to the computer screen size version of his dad.

i was wrong about the neighbour when i thought my son will not feel different when he sees his dad again after being away for some time. but i guess the neighbour left the other half of the story untold.

the saying "love is sweeter the second time around" is true!!!
after the fifteen minutes, everything was heaven.

gab started to reach his dad on the front passenger seat of the car and he kissed his dad and they played on our way home.
when we arrived home, gab became very busy.

he showed his toys...
he showed the bed and pointed to his dad where he will sleep...
he showed almost everything to his dad...
it was as if he thought it's his dad's first time to be in the house.

the sweetest part is this, when i wake up at night.... my baby is sleeping peacefully on his dad's arm.. or sometimes he's just much closer to his dad and his hand is touching his dad's face. it's something new..

my baby indeed has learned a lot.
now he knows who's important to him.
now he knows whom he loves.
and i guess somehow, he values now something that most adult people don’t... he values the presence of the people he loves.

now i am most certain that one has to bear a sad, painful beginning to see and experience the real happiness, the real picture.

it's just so sweet to have a child. =)