criblog: first day home

This morning on the monitor:

ALEPH: mumble mumble mumble mumble

           BUT!

           [pause]

           mumble mumble mumble.

It is sweeter than I can even explain to be home.

The phone calls got worse before they got better (EEMA: I love you. ALEPH: I can't answer right now. EEMA: You don't have to answer, sweetheart, I'm just going to talk to you. ALEPH: I don't want you to talk to me right now.) but the reunion was amazing. Aleph launched himself at me and gave me more forward-facing hugs* than I've ever received from him in his life; I guess it was essentially one long hug, since he'd pull away for a moment and then just relaunch himself into my arms. Bet was too excited to even hug me, and stood quivering like an arrow and talking nonstop. Then they spent an hour snuggling and crawling all over me like puppies.

They're still shaky, and there's some crying every time I'm out of their sight unless I explain I'm not going to Israel, I'm just going down the hall.

And it was hard on me, too. I had a tough time on the plane ride there, thinking intentionally putting an ocean between myself and my babies? what am I DOING? But I knew it had to be done. And as one of my sisters told me, it might not be their favorite way to learn it, but it's still worth learning:

Eema has to go away sometimes. BUT! she comes back.

* More on that another time.