Saturday 7 June 2008

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

To quote that old song, the weather outside is frightful, but not because of snow or high winds, gales, storms, or ice. Rather, the polar opposite. This oppressive heat and humidity is malingering, and is a constant and unwelcome reminder of what this summer presents. Hot, hazy days with a laziness that comes with the desire to avoid perspiring at all costs. You trudge down the sidewalk in the most defeated manner, the heat wearing you out. Our summers make all the simple things much harder to do. I believe the southern states in USA had the right idea when afternoon naps were a daily ritual. Avoid the heat, stay inside with the blinds and curtains drawn, and get up when it's cooler out. Pure genius.

I was reminded again today of how inconstant life can be at times.
It seems to me that at this point in time, our family that has been so close (albeit at times slightly dysfunctional) will be facing great divides.
One brother will be leaving at the end of June to begin his foray into military intelligence.
One sister will be tentatively moving to Asia in the next couple months to enter into her career there.
One brother will be taking a plane to a new job which will last a year.
Time will inevitably split us apart, taking us to new destinations, places where we are meant to build our lives, away from the home that we've had for several years now.
And as my parents face the decisions they must make over what to do with a house made for 10+ people, it comes to me in a sweeping realization that the time is looming for many of us to spread our wings and fly out into the world.
The difficulty is, we've been taught to rely on our parents and to remain close to home, garnering their respect and assurances on the choices we have made in our lives. Will it not be quite difficult to move from being controlled so much, to having to self-control?
This is a collective freakout, from the life and times of a controlled child.
How will this child who has been taught to cling to the traditional family and to depend on parents for daily decisions, how will she learn to make the decisions for herself, to live apart from the people who have held her so close?

I'm just saying...
The tighter you hold on to people, the harder it is to let go, and the harder it is to be released.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

A collective freakout? YES! And you are so right. Mom and Dad blame TV for my U of G failures. SO NOT TRUE. It was me. Me alone. I was the one who did not have self-control. (altho I still think that that was only part of my problem). Still... you are right... self-control... is sooo hard. When others control you, how can you learn to control yourself? At any rate, I think you are underestimating yourself. Out of us four older ones, other than Josh the heavenly one, you are probably the most balanced and mature one.

Check out my blog. I wrote something personal (for once)... an interesting discussion to read alongside your post.... And is perhaps a good response to your question.