role reversals
A couple of years ago I woke up in our little abandoned house in Salt lake City to my snoring teammates and that old nokia tune which used to be my ringtone. It was my father calling to ask "what (he) should do?!" about Steve. He sounded scared and very much like he'd been crying.
I felt, at that moment, my parents come crashing down on to the dirty, rotting carpet next to me; the ladder which lead up to that special place for idols and heroes trailing behind them and splintering into irreparable pieces beside us. I imagined my mom smirking bashfully and my father snorting, "wha'd you expect, kid?"
I mean it had occurred to me, before then, that there was bad news my father and mother could not handle with grace and recover from in stride. The question of just what that situation would be is, of course, what makes a person lie. The fear: this last thing I have done will be their undoing! is how one becomes adept at adolescent deception. Which, by definition, is an illusion. They were young once, too.
But....they have always been the picture of loving, gentle "I know you tried your best" parents .I could theorize that certain situations made them feel helpless and lost, but had yet to witness the reality.
So when my father spoke to me from three quarters of the country away with a hitch in his voice:"I don't know what do do anymore, Sarah" I suppose it marked a moment for me that I was probably lucky to have put off for so long. I remember manuvering between the still forms about me to sit on the front steps and just listen....to soothe my father and tell him it was all going to be all right
I felt, at that moment, my parents come crashing down on to the dirty, rotting carpet next to me; the ladder which lead up to that special place for idols and heroes trailing behind them and splintering into irreparable pieces beside us. I imagined my mom smirking bashfully and my father snorting, "wha'd you expect, kid?"
I mean it had occurred to me, before then, that there was bad news my father and mother could not handle with grace and recover from in stride. The question of just what that situation would be is, of course, what makes a person lie. The fear: this last thing I have done will be their undoing! is how one becomes adept at adolescent deception. Which, by definition, is an illusion. They were young once, too.
But....they have always been the picture of loving, gentle "I know you tried your best" parents .I could theorize that certain situations made them feel helpless and lost, but had yet to witness the reality.
So when my father spoke to me from three quarters of the country away with a hitch in his voice:"I don't know what do do anymore, Sarah" I suppose it marked a moment for me that I was probably lucky to have put off for so long. I remember manuvering between the still forms about me to sit on the front steps and just listen....to soothe my father and tell him it was all going to be all right