Homebodies
There must be something about summer that makes a person think a little more deeply about things they are surrounded by everyday. Whatever it is, I plan to write those thoughts down.
Somewhere sometime in my childhood, I remember my mom mentioning disapprovingly that a child of one of her friend's had chosen to quit college to get married and that that married, college quitter had very soon started having children. Since then, I have always chosen to agree with my mom's disapproval of people who chose to marry or "settle" without going to college or people who graduate from highschool and immediately go to work in their hometown. Why aren't they making the most of their life? Learning, travelling, meeting people who haven't watched them grow up? It is somewhat embarassing for me to say what I suppose I feel about these people because I know and care for many, but they have always seemed to me to be lazy, unmotivated, or settling for second best in some way. It's as though they have given up on all opportunities for greatness and chose instead a life that they understood to be safe and without surprises.
Working in my mother-in-laws cafe this summer has exposed me to many of these people. People who grew up working on their fathers' farms and now work on their own. Men who have lived in the same town their whole lives, went to war and came back. Couples who grew up about fifteen minutes apart from each and met at the local church or highschool.
Part of me sees that all as being so very small and kinda sad. I don't know why - they're all generally cheery people and I truly enjoy their company. But, do they ever wonder what they gave up by chosing the smalltown life forever? On the other hand, I suppose I could wonder what I'm giving up by moving away. And why is what I'm doing any better than the choice they made. Who will live the greater life? Who will be better remembered and respected? And does it matter at all?
Now I'm going to go home - to my husband I met in youth group who grew up 15 minutes away from where I did. Irony, you have beaten me with my own stick.
Somewhere sometime in my childhood, I remember my mom mentioning disapprovingly that a child of one of her friend's had chosen to quit college to get married and that that married, college quitter had very soon started having children. Since then, I have always chosen to agree with my mom's disapproval of people who chose to marry or "settle" without going to college or people who graduate from highschool and immediately go to work in their hometown. Why aren't they making the most of their life? Learning, travelling, meeting people who haven't watched them grow up? It is somewhat embarassing for me to say what I suppose I feel about these people because I know and care for many, but they have always seemed to me to be lazy, unmotivated, or settling for second best in some way. It's as though they have given up on all opportunities for greatness and chose instead a life that they understood to be safe and without surprises.
Working in my mother-in-laws cafe this summer has exposed me to many of these people. People who grew up working on their fathers' farms and now work on their own. Men who have lived in the same town their whole lives, went to war and came back. Couples who grew up about fifteen minutes apart from each and met at the local church or highschool.
Part of me sees that all as being so very small and kinda sad. I don't know why - they're all generally cheery people and I truly enjoy their company. But, do they ever wonder what they gave up by chosing the smalltown life forever? On the other hand, I suppose I could wonder what I'm giving up by moving away. And why is what I'm doing any better than the choice they made. Who will live the greater life? Who will be better remembered and respected? And does it matter at all?
Now I'm going to go home - to my husband I met in youth group who grew up 15 minutes away from where I did. Irony, you have beaten me with my own stick.