Last night, our daughter, Kathy, and her three children, Hannah, Brianna and Isaiah, arrived in New York for their first visit. Kathy’s husband, Earl, is deployed in Iraq, so he will not be with us this year.

The flight arrived at 11:30 p.m. As I waited, I saw family after family greet arriving loved ones—kids coming home from college, sons and daughters with military haircuts and cameo backpacks, etc. You could see the eagerness as many of them literally ran into each other’s arms.

Soon my quartet of travelers came into view. Isaiah carried...