Our house isn’t the same without him. There is an echo down the halls. A dull silence that hangs suspended trapped almost. Hovering in held breath and drawn out anticipation. There is nothing sinister or overwhelming in his absence. It is just that he is not here. That is enough.
The morning coffee he makes me somehow doesn’t taste the same from my hands. The weekend news somewhat lack lustre without someone there to share with.
Reminders of him linger. Not as beacons, but as gentle mementos that pace out the day. Keep the rhythm of our house in check. Slow. Beat. Slow. Beat. Slow.
Soft, fluffy best friends become quintessential. Little arms hug them tight to fill an emptiness they feel when their real best friend is on the other side of the world.
Little hands grow restless waiting. Grow impatient counting the days. Numbers on pieces of paper in the kitchen can feel so painstakingly slow to cross off.
A deep set gratitude for technology and the way it can keep us connected. Polar and isolated, but still connected. I can’t even imagine how it would be without the connection. The silence would pierce.
Daily life still cycles. The routine continues to tumble over itself. But the conversation is lacking. The string of words is noticeably absent. The days seem to temp on slow and the moments linger in a defined pause, waiting for him to come home.
The last text message as he boards the plane is the shift we anticipate. We have been here before. Time and time again. His arrival is anticipated each time as if it is a first.
That is the part I wait for. It is the only thing that lifts the suspended silence. It is almost as if I can exhale, as he inches closer to home.
The arrival is always different. Sometimes we wait at the airport for the doors to open and close. Sometimes we wait at the front door, wondering if the next set of headlights will be his taxi. Sometimes we wake up early in the morning and bounce into bed, knowing that Daddy came home while we slept.
Either way he is home. The arrival is anticipated sometimes before he even leaves us again. For we may live the lives dictated by the choices we have made. But we also live the lives dictated by the people that we love. Those people pull the strings to our hearts whether they are moments or miles away. And nothing is better than having them arrive home.
Arrival is part of the My Family Lens blog challenge series held through Olympus and Kidspot Voices of 2014. #myfamilylens explores and celebrates the unique things that make us the family that we are.
The images in this post were captured using the Olympus OM-D E-M10. The wireless connectivity, inbuilt art filters, high resolution touch screen and interchangeable lens makes this camera powerful enough to produce professional quality images in a compact camera that you can take everywhere.
Being in the moment is what matters most, capturing the moment should be easy. Please take a moment to fall in love with the Olympus OM-D E-M10.
