You hear about it, you see it in films, read it in books, but nothing prepared me for the feeling when I had to leave my wife and son back in Europe and head back home to work. I’m not unemotional, but I was completely taken aback by how powerful the feeling was when it came time to say goodbye and leave for my flight.
To describe the feeling would be nearly impossible because anything I write would not do it justice, but suffice to say that it was akin to having a part of you violently removed, and then a curtain of sadness descending.
On the plane I started thinking about all those songs about saying goodbye, and how over the years how much angst had been written about this very subject. For those who have not experienced it, it will happen and you cannot prepare for it. For those who have had the opportunity to feel this sensation at full effect – I can commiserate and hope that at some point the situation returned to its original or an improved state.
And the smile that is worth the praises of earth is the smile that shines through tears.
~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox
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