I taped an interview this morning at KUOW (the awesome NPR station in Seattle) for their Sound Focus program. It aired this afternoon and I heard the beginning of the interview as I was driving home from a doctor's appointment. I ended up sitting in a parking lot listening to the rest of the piece and crying.
Admittedly, it was just a few tears but I was affected by the experience because I opened up and talked about my family and the struggles I've had connecting with them, pretty much all my life. As the previous author on the program (the awesome Amanda Ford) pointed out, life is not a checklist and for me, that's certainly true. My relationship with my family is improving but it's ever-evolving with setbacks and breakthroughs.
What's your relationship like with your family? I'd love to hear from those of you who struggle with finding common ground or who feel like they are the white sheep of the family.
Listen to the interview.
P.S. As I'm writing this in a coffee shop, there is a woman on the phone talking to her mom on her cell, and asking about her grandparents' history (profession, date of birth, hometown, etc.) for a geneology project. I kid you not.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
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3 comments:
Great spot on KUOW yesterday. Very excited to read your newest book. I have a similar history. Grew up in small rural town then moved to the city for school and a job. The relationship with my family ebbs and flows. The tension mostly centers on values and beliefs. While my "liberalization" worries my parents, they are good at continuing to love and support me and have made an effort to grow in their own beliefs and values.
As my family of origin ages -- my parents are 81 and 80, my five siblings range in age from 52 to 45 and I am 39 -- we are all kind of growing apart emotionally but we continue to go through the motions.
We were never tight knit to begin with. Now my mother has Stage Six Alzheimer's and my brother has debilitating, progressive MS and is bedridden.
In true form, my family talks of no sadness, no disease and no one acknowledges what is going on. But we all exchange pleasantries.
I am the only one who occasionally cries and feels sad about these terrible, terminal diseases.
And I am seen as the weak one, because of it.
Good luck on your quest with your own family.
I would love to listen to your interview. the link is not working for me.
Blogging has actually really helped my relationship with my dad. We had a non-existant one a few years ago and then he started reading my blog. At first he would write me these emails defending himself when ever I shared something about my childhood (that sucked) on my blog. Eventually he got it and now we actually send cards and email and stuff. a little, not a ton, but big strides have been made.
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