WILLPOWER MELTDOWN SOMETIMES

My wife and our high-school-aged son have been living 400 kilometers away from our family home for the past two months. During the school summer holidays, they traveled back to stay with me at home for a week. Today they left home. Right before she got into the car to return to their new place, she said, “I don’t want to go.” I was a little surprised. She was the one who had decided to move out, and she is strong and has never said such vulnerable words. When she said so, I understood how she felt, but I didn’t say anything. After they left, I cleaned up after them. I am already used to living without them.