I have been in Slovenia this week for work and while it has been wonderful, fun and enlightening in many ways it has also been heart breaking, since I am spending this time away from my wife and son.

It seems that as more years pass I find myself lost more and more without them with me. Its not just the sight of them that I miss, but a thousand other things. The way my wife giggles when she is reading manga. My son's exasperated cries of "crap" when something he doesn't like happens.

The longer you live with someone, and the deeper you love them, the larger a part of your heart they claim. The piece that is left to me is so small that it sometimes feels like when they are away simply breathing becomes a laborious task.

Its like having a 4 cylinder car, but only one of the cylinders is firing. I am living but only barely.

It is hard for me to really enjoy being in a new city, in a new part of the world, if I don't have them to share it with. I found myself turning to mention something to my wife, or point something out to my son, to remember that they are 7600 miles away.

It makes my heart ache. I don't like achey hearts. Especially when they are sung about in bad country songs. I think this will be my last solo trip for a while.