Snippets of Home Life
One of the goals of this blog is to capture the humorous side of boomeranging back home, which members of my family have graciously supplied with the following tidbits:
Caitlin: "Dad, I'm in sweat pants and a sweat shirt on a lovely Friday afternoon. I think that means I give up on life."
Dad: "But you washed your hair, right?"
C: "Yes."
D: "Then you haven't quite given up on life."
C: "Mom, you don't want me living at home until I'm 30 do you?"
Mom: "I just want you to be happy."
C: "Mom, do you think I could be a human puppet on Sesame Street?"
M: "Well, you won't know until you ask."
C: "Mom, I have to confess something to you. When I was in 7th grade, I forged your signature on my first quarter progress report."
M: "You did? Cool."
*Make my usual funny faces while my Mom and I wait in the check out line*
M: "With those faces you should be on some show that entertains little kids."
(This statement along with a photograph of the Big Bird cake/ Sesame Street balloon from my first birthday that I found in an old photo album should be enough to put on a resume for Sesame Street, right?)
*After showing Mom aforementioned picture.*
C:"Now your little girl can legally drink beer."
M:"Yeah, you go baby!"
*A little explanation is necessary for this quote. My Grandmother is a little Italian lady in a wheelchair, who tends to put her hand against her forehead at the kitchen table as if she were a mob boss deep in thought. (several of my cousins have told her about this uncanny resemblance)*
C: "Grandma, what are you thinking about?"
G: "Who to murder next."
G: "Caitlin, read this article in the paper."
*reads article that comments on the popularity of online dating and how relationships are just as stable if not more stable then those formed offline*
C: "Why did you have me read this article?"
G: "I just find it interesting that online dating is so popular nowadays."
(Still unsure of grandmotherly motives)
*Dad hands over a copy of the New Yorker with its corner and the first couple of pages folded like an injured puppy*
D:"Oh no, Caitlin, they folded it on you!"
C:"Those BASTARDS!'
(He knows me too well.)
*while watching the PBS Newshour*
D:"Do you know what Gwen Ifill's nickname is?"
C:"What?"
D:"Tower."
Aside from these humorous moments, the conversations/daily interactions I've had in the month since I moved back home has deepened a certain view of my parents. I see them as more as individuals and less as a collective parental unit. On the surface, this realization is so obvious that it merits an emphatic 'Duh!' Yet on another level, I did not fully perceive or appreciate all the interesting experiences wrapped up inside the two people closest to me that I freely ascribed to other adults/friends. I think the reason behind my inattention was the all too familiar late high school eagerness (with just a hint of angst) to leave behind the stifling familiarity of home so I could really begin my own story. College gave me the perfect dose of absence to become more mindful of how much the relationship with my parents and extended family has shaped who I am.
With that mindset, I see boomeranging back home as an opportunity to have a fuller relationship with my parents and extended family. Before you think I've gone the full Pollyanna, I am fully aware this transition will have its ups and downs. Those shifts are a natural part of most things in life and I believe boomeranging will be an adventure nonetheless.
Caitlin: "Dad, I'm in sweat pants and a sweat shirt on a lovely Friday afternoon. I think that means I give up on life."
Dad: "But you washed your hair, right?"
C: "Yes."
D: "Then you haven't quite given up on life."
C: "Mom, you don't want me living at home until I'm 30 do you?"
Mom: "I just want you to be happy."
C: "Mom, do you think I could be a human puppet on Sesame Street?"
M: "Well, you won't know until you ask."
C: "Mom, I have to confess something to you. When I was in 7th grade, I forged your signature on my first quarter progress report."
M: "You did? Cool."
*Make my usual funny faces while my Mom and I wait in the check out line*
M: "With those faces you should be on some show that entertains little kids."
(This statement along with a photograph of the Big Bird cake/ Sesame Street balloon from my first birthday that I found in an old photo album should be enough to put on a resume for Sesame Street, right?)
*After showing Mom aforementioned picture.*
C:"Now your little girl can legally drink beer."
M:"Yeah, you go baby!"
*A little explanation is necessary for this quote. My Grandmother is a little Italian lady in a wheelchair, who tends to put her hand against her forehead at the kitchen table as if she were a mob boss deep in thought. (several of my cousins have told her about this uncanny resemblance)*
C: "Grandma, what are you thinking about?"
G: "Who to murder next."
G: "Caitlin, read this article in the paper."
*reads article that comments on the popularity of online dating and how relationships are just as stable if not more stable then those formed offline*
C: "Why did you have me read this article?"
G: "I just find it interesting that online dating is so popular nowadays."
(Still unsure of grandmotherly motives)
*Dad hands over a copy of the New Yorker with its corner and the first couple of pages folded like an injured puppy*
D:"Oh no, Caitlin, they folded it on you!"
C:"Those BASTARDS!'
(He knows me too well.)
*while watching the PBS Newshour*
D:"Do you know what Gwen Ifill's nickname is?"
C:"What?"
D:"Tower."
Aside from these humorous moments, the conversations/daily interactions I've had in the month since I moved back home has deepened a certain view of my parents. I see them as more as individuals and less as a collective parental unit. On the surface, this realization is so obvious that it merits an emphatic 'Duh!' Yet on another level, I did not fully perceive or appreciate all the interesting experiences wrapped up inside the two people closest to me that I freely ascribed to other adults/friends. I think the reason behind my inattention was the all too familiar late high school eagerness (with just a hint of angst) to leave behind the stifling familiarity of home so I could really begin my own story. College gave me the perfect dose of absence to become more mindful of how much the relationship with my parents and extended family has shaped who I am.
With that mindset, I see boomeranging back home as an opportunity to have a fuller relationship with my parents and extended family. Before you think I've gone the full Pollyanna, I am fully aware this transition will have its ups and downs. Those shifts are a natural part of most things in life and I believe boomeranging will be an adventure nonetheless.
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