In our experience saying "See you later" (which we prefer to goodbye) seems to just come with the territory of being a trucking kid. We have gone through all sorts of stages in how this effects the kids. Up until He reached about a year old, the constant "See you later" didn't seem to bother Buddy. For about the last 10 months, he gets very upset when anyone takes the door (especially Daddy). There really isn't a lot we can do to help him understand at this point other than give him lots of love and verbalize what is happening for him. For example: When Daddy takes out the trash we tell him that Daddy will be right back he is only taking the trash out. Another important thing we've found is letting both our children know when Daddy will be going back to work (especially since he usually leaves while they are asleep). A simple "Give Daddy extra hugs and kisses. He has to go to work and won't be here when you wake up" can make a world of difference in the morning. On the few occasions that we have forgotten, we have very upset children until they can talk to their father on the phone.
For Princess (my 4 year old), she gets very upset by goodbyes. Routine is very important for her right now. If we have a visitor, Princess can be upset for days, and on the rare occasion even weeks, after they leave. She will walk around saying "I miss....". Simply saying you will see them again in a few months does not help because she has no concept of time. I have found that making a simple chart (either on the computer or hand drawn) can make a world of difference.
We make the chart, add numbers in each box, and put what it is for. Then we hang it on the refrigerator and every night before bed she can add a stamp or a sticker. She still misses, in this case Auntie, but she can see that time is going by and the day she gets to see Auntie again is getting closer. And an added benefit is she gets to practice her counting because we always count how many days have gone by. :-)
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