I miss you….

One small phrase, so many meanings. Have you ever thought about what that phrase really means to people when they say it? Have you ever even thought that it could have multiple meanings?

We miss different things about different people. We miss their smile, we miss their laugh, we miss their hugs, we miss their presence.

Lately, I’ve really thought a lot about this phrase. I recently was able to go spend some time with my family and a few friends. Most of which I had been missing terribly. I’ve been thinking about why I miss some more than others when I just saw them. I have realized that because what I was missing from each was different. For some of them I fulfilled that. For others, I did not. For some I simply missed being in their presence, laughing and having a good time. For others, I have realized, what I was missing and what I’m still missing is their connection. I can say I miss you to one person and simply just mean I miss seeing you. For those, a group hangout, a short visit to catch up, etc is sufficient to curb that. For others, I need alone time, one on one, deep connection. For that is what I am missing about them. That is not something I get from a short visit to catch up, by simply being in their presence, by calling them up, by a group hangout. I can have any or all of the above and I’ll still walk away missing them. Walk away with that deep yearning to spend time with them. For those things, in some ways, make it worse. You know the old phrase “so close I can feel it”? You are right there. Everything you’ve been missing. But yet, somehow, you just can’t grab ahold of it. It’s just outside your reach. This is because it wasn’t what you missed. It wasn’t what your heart so deeply ached for. It’s more of a feeling you are missing. A feeling of old times past, a feeling of familiarity, a feeling of safeness, a feeling of home.

It’s so hard to explain to someone that you can “see them” and still be missing them at the very same moment. It makes you feel needy, selfish, and difficult. The reality is you just miss them.