Leaving Family and Friends

Apologies in advance:  I know some of my family will not like this picture, but the amateur photographer had just instructed us to have stern faces as if we were engaged in the dart gun fight.  As you can see, only some were paying attention.  (Don’s kids, Livia and Ty, were unable to be there and are featured below.)

The time is flying by and I’m just days away from leaving family and friends behind for a while.  Two months doesn’t sound like a long time, but I’ve already found myself homesick at times thinking about it. For instance, just the other day it happened at, of all places, a Yoga class.  Yes, Yoga!  I added it to my training regimen about eight weeks ago to keep limber and practice balance (for crossing ladders over crevasses).  It has become one of the highlights of my training.

At the beginning of the class the yogini instructed us to confine our worries to the four corners of our mats and then asked us to think of something that makes us happy.  I thought of my two-, three-, and four-year-old grandkids who like to play the “can’t catch me grandpa” game – giggling and laughing, all the while trying to escape without being caught.  Their happy, carefree attitude is normally so contagious.  But, my thoughts quickly turned on me as I realized I will be so far away from them.  I went from happy to sad in an instant and found myself quickly drying tears as to not give myself away.  My kids and their kids are the focus of my and Judy’s life, and though a little break won’t hurt anything, I surely will be lonely without them around.

My parents, Lynn and Carole, have been meeting me for lunch once a week for the past couple of months. We said our goodbyes two days ago as they will also be leaving for a trip of their own the same day I do. Parents worry, and I could see it in their eyes.  I’m quite sure it springs from the great love almost every parent has for a child.  And any who have lost one, as they have, must feel it even more.  My kids and siblings have all taken me to lunch as well, and I’m sure with similar feelings.  Other family and friends have done the same. Judy kindly threw a farewell party for me and many traveled some distance to be there.  I appreciate and admire all of the people I work with at Morgan Stanley as they have been so kind and genuinely interested in what I’m doing.

It has been a wonderful time in my life to reflect on all the memories.  I’ve heard it said that one returns from Everest a changed person.  Perhaps less brain cells, yes, but profoundly changed from the experience.  I felt that way just visiting Everest Base Camp three years ago, so I can only imagine more. Maybe it will be as simple as realizing in even a deeper way how much my family and friends mean to me.