And at least this time Disney didn’t kill off any parents,
so I didn’t have to mourn my own demise.
Instead I watched that timeless battle between a mother who
loves her children and does the invariably inadequate best she can for them,
and a daughter on the cusp of womanhood who wants to find her own path in life
without the encumbrance of someone else’s ideas.
As usual it led to botched spells, battles against evil, and
life-changing self realization on both parts.
Ah … if only it were that easy. In real life there is anger and hurt,
judgment and recrimination, control and rebellion. Finally, if we’re very lucky and very careful,
there is communication and hard won reconciliation. Then we get to repeat the whole cycle the
next day.
I sat there in the dark with my own cusp of womanhood in the seat next
to me and knew I was watching my fate as surely as the early worm knows it’s going
to end up being regurgitated into a baby bird’s gullet. And there was nothing I could do to stop it.
But I can delay it.
This trip has been the silver lining in the dark cloud of
tweenaged angst. Although there are still
those hormonally induced emotional displays of anger wrapped in a strong sense
of being misunderstood, as well as all the tears those emotions engender, there
are so many more moments of willing openness touched by the last vestiges of
childhood wonder and delight.
Sarah is indeed growing into a woman – I can see her body
changing before my eyes; but it is the child in her who hugs me in delight as
we watch a glorious sunset blooming over the desert, who reaches for my hand
when we come upon a nest of baby birds, and who snuggles with me on those few
mornings we can sleep in.
It is the child in her who travels in the back seat of the
minivan oohing and ahhing as I call attention to the mountains outside our
window, who wants me to tell her stories from my life as we drive through mile
after mile of boringly similar scenery, and who shares a private look with me
when the love of a daughter saves her mother in an animated movie.
But it is the adult in her who tells me how glad she is to
be driving the back roads so she can really see the country, who apologizes
when her emotions get the better of both of us, and who shares a private look with
me when the love of a daughter saves her mother in an animated movie.
It is the adult in her who makes me a better woman.
Perhaps my fate isn’t so bad after all.
For Gene's very different view of
the same journey, check out his blog at www.ConnorsArmy.blogspot.com
To learn more about Connor's Army go to www.ConnorsArmy.org
To see exactly why we're doing this go to www.SunriseDayCamp.org
To make a tax deductible donation go to https://www.wizevents.com/register/register_add.php?sessid=1809&id=1056
To learn more about Connor's Army go to www.ConnorsArmy.org
To see exactly why we're doing this go to www.SunriseDayCamp.org
To make a tax deductible donation go to https://www.wizevents.com/register/register_add.php?sessid=1809&id=1056
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