Children are the anchors that hold a mother to life. Sophocles.
A ship ought not to be held by one anchor, nor life by a single hope. Epictetus, philosopher (c. 60-120
Before you know it, the kids are grown. My mother used to say it took the longest to get a child to age 5. After that, it just blitzes by.
I think there's some truth to our children anchoring us to this life...and also that we'd better have more interests than just our children.
College girl's spring break is over...and off she goes again, as she should be...and I have a gazillion things to catch up on...and as always, I miss her when she first goes (and when I know she's coming home/back) (she still considers it home, whereas at her age, I didn't...so I'm lucky in that respect)(and she has a gf the same age who frankly told her she didn't think she'd ever come back for a school vacation again, it wasn't home)...and very soon I get engaged in my own life again.
We have friends who just built a home for her parents adjacent to their home on large acreage. Their son who is about 5ish, freely moves back and forth, because it's about 100 steps. Her mother loves it; they do too. A gf has practically that situation with her own grandchild who is a newborn.
OTOH, there's a few of us who go, literally, to great lengths to see our grandchildren. We throw an anchor into the beyond.
Whatever works!
How close is too close, if you are talking about living close to your own family -- or not?
Karin
Originally posted 2007-03-19 07:21:31.
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