Did You Miss Me?

Did you miss me? Being missed is a variation on the theme of being wanted, and I don’t think that I’m alone in wanting to be needed—of needing to be wanted. Human contentment and satisfaction are, so far as I can tell, universal needs. The ever-growing population of planet Earth works directly against these needs being met, eventually requiring that we be ever more diligent in expressing to those in our spheres of influence that they are wanted, that they are needed, that they belong, and that they are missed.

My absence the last several days is easily explained by Mary’s and my visit with family in Billings, Montana. It was the second leg of our “Mother of a Summer” tour. My need to be wanted was deeply satisfied in the presence of my mother and my sister, brother-in-law and nephews. The only ones that didn’t welcome my presence were the cats (I came back with Clint’s fang marks blemishing my leg, while Pooh actually hissed at me only once). Through the miracle of technology we maintained our relationships with other loved ones via e-mail and telephone.

One of the lingering lessons of 9/11 is that our ability to communicate our love and appreciation for others is finite, and we have no way of knowing for sure when the time to do so will run out. Hopefully part of the silver lining of that horribly black cloud is our realization that it’s so important to let others know that they are wanted, that they are needed, that they belong, and that when they are absent, they are missed.