Can You Imagine?

[Note: a serious post this time.]

Can you imagine missing over five years with your family?
I can’t.
As I’ve watched news about the rescue of the three American contractors, Ingrid Betancourt and others in Colombia, missing special times with family is one of things I’ve thought about. Betancourt, standing next to her 22-year-old daughter and 19-year-old son, mentioned some of the changes in her children.
I thought about the period from February 2003 to July 2, 2008, in my own extended family. There were a lot of changes in our family during that time; I thought about just a few of the milestones I would have missed:
Daughter Tiffany’s coming home from active duty in the Army, then subsequently being activated as a part of the Army Reserves;
Son Tree’s graduation from law school and employment as a public defender, followed by a stint in India and, thank goodness, his return to the US;
Daughter Mandy’s graduation from college and marriage to Adam;
Birth of grandson Harrison;
Marriage of brother Shawn to Catherine; births of their two children, Kendall and Spencer;
Births of Christopher and Jonathan to sister Lorri and her husband, Dan;
Marriage of niece Laney to Bryan;
Birth of Ethan to Laney and Bryan;
Marriage of step-niece Amy to Will;
Births of Nina and Redding to nephew Ross and his wife, Carla; and
Mom’s 80th birthday celebration.
And all of these are the milestones, not the everyday moments that are so special.
I cannot imagine being away from family for five-and-a-half years.