Gone

So he's gone. For real this time. No more bonus weekend visits or holidays. All day today the Montgomery Gentry song "Gone" was running through my head while I was doing the laundry and helping pack. And by helping I mean staying out of the way. :) Here's the chorus to the song:

This is gone (gone) gone (gone) gone (gone) gone

Gone like a freight-train, gone like yesterday

Gone like a soldier in the civil war, bang bang

Gone like a '59 Cadillac

Like all the good things that ain't never coming back

Not completely appropriate since he is coming back. It may seem like forever but it's only 6 months. This other song "What Kind of Gone" (Chris Cagle) is better since it's about the different kinds of gone.

well theres gone for the day and gone for the night and gone for the rest of your dogone life

Gone for the rest of the dogone year.

Gone.

After many tearful goodbyes (I've been crying off and on all day starting in mass) we dropped him off at the airport. As we kissed goodbye the rain started to fall gently - just like tears.

Grandpa R is here now. He surprised us at the beach this weekend and today he took the train down to stay with us here for a couple days. (Maybe the kids will be able to convince him to stay later than Tuesday). We would've given him a ride back with us but we had carpooled and every seat in the van was full, plus Darby on the floor. I think it's kind of funny how different guys end up coming in to deal with the aftermath of Ron's departures. In college, it was Travis. Just a friend (though I'm pretty sure he wanted it to be more than that) who came to Chicago for a week to visit and hang out. Too bad he was stuck with depressed ol' me who couldn't even eat because I might never see Ron again... This time Grandpa R has the duty. Maybe someone should have warned him!

And so today I will cry and tomorrow I will turn my attention to the business of living. January will be here before we know it.