A new year, the same tear

My son caught me crying the other night. “Why are you crying, Daddy?” he asked. I couldn’t answer. “You know, you should be honest with him if you want him to be honest with you in the future,” said my wife. He had time to ask me 2 more times before I finally was able to swallow that ball that had lodged itself in my throat. “I don’t want you guys to go back,” I finally confessed to him. “I miss you so much when you’re not here…” “Oh,” he replied, understanding. Then, he gave me a hug and I held him for a bit…