Twins Blog: Long Absence
June 03, 2011, By Josh Katzowitz 0 comments
In the dark night, with the runway lights illuminating little stretches of land and with airplanes screaming overhead, I searched the crowd of people waiting for the rides that would take them away from the airport.
Finally, I found her—a pretty brunette with a Baby Bjorn carrying another pretty brunette. I hadn’t seen my wife in a week, and as a result, I hadn’t seen my twins.
It was the longest I’d ever gone without hearing their cries, changing their diapers, feeling their soft skin against mine. Seven days is a long time not to see your wife, but it’s manageable. Seven days is forever not to see your eight-month-old twins, and it’s absolutely brutal.
All week long, I thought about them. I video-chatted with them on my cell phone. I studied the pictures my wife sent me (here’s a picture of Noah laughing, here’s Stella in her bathing suit and floppy hat, here’s a shot of them both). Hell, I even missed cleaning their spit-up.
More than anything, I worried that they wouldn’t remember me.
I approached my wife, and after greeting her, I bent to my daughter, facing outward in the Baby Bjorn. She looked at me and…nothing. No sign of recognition, no smile. Like I was a stranger.
I wasn’t offended. I really wasn’t. It was something I half-expected. Stella is a little more shy (and a little harder to please) than her brother, so I wasn’t shocked when she gave me very little reaction.
Plus, it was late, and she was coming off a three-hour flight, so she was probably tired. Sometimes, even when I’ve spent all day with her, she’s cool to me when it gets closer to bedtime. So, not a problem.
