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Savannah Guthrie is getting honest about the difficult task of returning to work while her mom, Nancy Guthrie, remains missing.The "Today" anchor, 54, served as guest cohost of the NBC morning show's fourth hour with Jenna Bush Hager on Monday, June 8. The two colleagues and close friends shed tears during an emotional conversation about how Guthrie has managed to soldier on and do her hosting job every day while grappling with her 84-year-old mother's disappearance in February."It's really hard to come back. I've been trying so hard to hold it together," Guthrie said, choking up.Guthrie said she's "happy to be back" on "Today," noting the job gives her "a little respite" during the day and brings her "a lot of joy" because the people she works with are family. But "no, it's not easy.""I don't think if I had any other kind of job, I would have even tried to come back, but I just felt like, 'Well, what else should I do?'" she said. "And my mom would have said the same, like, 'Honey, just keep going, just keep going.' And so I am."She continued: "I know maybe people wonder, 'What's going on? How is she able to do that job? Is she not thinking about it? Did she forget?' No. Never," she said, going on to share, "I cry every morning on the way to work, and I cry every morning on the way home."Where is Savannah Guthrie's mom? Investigation continues after return to 'Today' showNancy Guthrie was reported missing in Arizona on Feb. 1. Authorities are continuing to search for the 84-year-old, who they say was taken from her home against her will. The Guthrie family has offered a reward of $1 million for information that leads to her recovery.Guthrie stepped away from the "Today" show for two months after her mom went missing, but she returned to the air on April 6. "Well, here we go. Ready or not, let's do the news," she said at the top of her first episode back, in which she also thanked supporters for their kindness and prayers. She has continued to host "Today" since then.Sitting down with Guthrie on June 8, Hager said she has "marveled" at her colleague's strength in being able to keep doing her job, despite a continued lack of answers about her mom's whereabouts."We'll have your back," Hager told Guthrie. "We'll be with you forever with this."Prior to her official return to work, Guthrie visited the "Today" studio in early March and told colleagues that she planned to resume her job. She later sat down for an emotional conversation with Hoda Kotb, in which she reflected on her decision to come back to the show."It's hard to imagine doing it, because it's such a place of joy and lightness," she said. "I can't come back and try to be something that I'm not. But I can't not come back, because it's my family. I think it's part of my purpose right now. I want to smile. And when I do, it will be real. And my joy will be my protest. My joy will be my answer, and being there is joyful. And when it's not, I'll say so."
