I work very hard not to cry when we say “good-bye” to our Brazil-residing son after we see him.  When we visited Seth in Sao Paulo last year, the plane was high in the clouds before I let the tears fall.  And last Sunday, when he left after a brief visit home, I didn’t cry at the airport.  But all day long, I felt awful.  It was instant depression.  I asked Peter if he was sad.  He said he wasn’t.  So I think this is a mother/umbilical cord thing.  It is a wrenching feeling in the belly that I have each time either of our kids leaves us.  Fortunately, after I get their sheets and towels into the laundry and make the house look like they haven’t been here, I am fine.

On his way back to Brazil, Seth stopped in Maryland to see his brother Jeremy and his family.  Our grandchildren and Seth adore one another.  He visited Grady’s pre-school on Monday morning, and gave a presentation on the Brazilian rainforest to Leo’s kindergarten class in the afternoon. 

The children accompanied their father on the trip to the airport to drop Seth off Monday night.  Jeremy reported that Leo sobbed when Seth left.

Like grandmother, like grandson.