Pal- I'm sure that's part of it. And yes, no return date would be a completely different thing. But I would have thought that I would at least have the thought of wishing she was here, on Christmas. And, thinking about it, I don't think it is really just about this trip. When I come home, or she comes home, from work, I really don't care if I see her or not. I think I've nearly completely detached emotionally, other than some anger and resentment, and feeling them just makes me want to detach more.
Historically, she hasn't been gone a lot, though probably at least once a year she'll take some subset of kids on a jouney of some sort. I used to miss her, but more recently, like in the past year or two, I'm happier when she isn't here. Which is hard to admit, but it is true. I didn't really realize that until this time, when I actually though about it.
EDIT: Over the years, I have traveled for work in bursts, one for a year and a half or so. But I always got to hear about how things went better at home while I was gone.
