Moving Day -- PLEASE NOTE!
13 years ago
How to Enjoy Your Parents
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
When I think about my parents as "my parents" (some monolithic cultural construct) -- I find that I don't enjoy them very much.
However, when I just sit back and observe/listen/experience them as individual human beings, I find that I enjoy them a great deal.
I'm beginning to form (or re-form) a hypothesis about how "grouping" people may decrease my enjoyment of the individuals in the group.
Still, I find that I do this mental "grouping" constantly. Today, I sat with my parents and one of my friend's parents (who are closely related in terms of their generational material), and I found myself thinking: "I'm listening to a generation."
In truth, however, I think I'm listening to four voices of a generation, which I do not dream represents an entire socio-cultural experience.
I notice my monkey-mind attempting to categorize this experience, however.
I think that this is probably enormously short-sighted and scope-limited.
It's ironic to me that the distinct individuality of my children proved to me that each human being is unique, but with my parents and others of their "generation", I seem to want to sweep them all into some broad category that "explains them" to me.
I think that this is, possibly, a sign of true laziness on my part.
This post seems disjointed and obtuse to me, in some ways, but I'm about to hit "publish post" -- think of it as a simple revelation: These are the thoughts I am thinking tonight, after a day in which I have been breaking down and observing the individualities of the unit I have called "My Parents". I have no conclusions -- no universally-encompassing insights -- just more questions.
Posted byPortlyDyke at 10:28 PM
Labels: Family, Very Personal Details
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The fact that you can have these thoughts and then open yourself up to examine them says a lot about you!
We should all wish for such questions. They're the reason we exist. Relish them, Gurl.
It is very odd about parents. Mine are dull together but interesting separately, also. I wonder if they are dull together when I am not present, or whether they just feel constrained because they must go into parent mode - as a form of theatre - not only for me but also for each other when I am there.