More than 40 years since we have been apart this long...

On my whiteboard I drew a calendar to count down the days. Each day has a red number counting down — 31, 30, 29 — and every morning one of those numbers gets a little smaller. Today it reads 21.

Tammy is in the Philippines. She finally gets to hug our granddaughter Lily for the first time in more than a year. And, she gets to help with Leah, our second granddaughter. I'm here in Ohio watching the red numbers count down.

Thirty-one days. A full month apart.

It occurred to me that we haven't been apart this long in over forty years. The last time was back when I was in the Army, deployed to Germany. Since then, through all the years and all the seasons of a life built together, a month has never come between us.

So this one feels long. The house is quieter. I don't know how many times I just expected her to walk through the door, only to realize that would be pretty difficult right now.

But I know why she's there, and it's a good reason — the best kind. A newborn to hold, and a toddler that is a ball of energy. Some absences are worth the ache.

Here is a recent picture of Tammy holding Leah:

Twenty-one to go. And then the board comes down, the numbers go back to zero, and this longest month becomes just another story we tell.