When it rains, it pours might have also been an apt title, especially given that I live in Oregon with one of the worst wet winters on record. Oh that's right, its not officially winter anymore.
I am one of three kids. Both of my parents are dead - one a while back (almost 16 years ago -a whole other lifetime ago) and one more recent. My childhood, like many, was not an easy one. Some of the trials and tribulations were normal growing up things (bullies, boys and bad self image) others not so normal for the time (believe it or not divorce, sexual abuse, alcoholism).
I have always looked at my life as a sum of all its parts. I don't look at my life with regrets, if I can help it, as I would not be where I am now if those things had not happened. I can NOT like what happened, not like what the outcome of something was (like gaining hundreds of pounds too much) but regreting the past means regreting who I am -and I don't. Nowadays, I think I am a pretty decent person. I volunteer, I am community oriented, I don't drink, don't do drugs or carouse all night. I am a faithful wife, love my children and have a great group of friends who at any given moment can be relied upon to fill in as part of whatever part of my life is lacking something at that moment (friend, sister, parent, grandparent, confidant, asskicker, whatever)...
When I was growing up, I did not have a lot of friends. I had a lot of people I knew, but probably the best friend I had was my brother, who is younger than me. He's about four and a half years younger chronologically, but while we were the spitting image of each other -we are polar opposites in personality. My sister on the other hand is about four and a half years older and was everything I was not. Platinum blonde, tall, thin and could not care less what people thought of her. I so wanted to be her and I so wanted her to like me.
As I have grown up in both age and wisdom, there are a lot of life changes. My brother and I have nothing in common and very little contact. There is no sign of the companionship that was bred of a life led in each other's shadow both genetically, resembling a man long gone and by the geography of growing up in each others pockets. I am no longer his caretaker or his confidante in any capacity. I've met his wife, though she was not his wife then and he has children I have never seen - but he has not seen mine either, or met my husband of over 12 years. The rift was there before the marriages and the children came along. My sister and I are so much closer than she and I were growing up and she often weighs in on what my oldest daughter is thinking when engaging in sibling terrorizing and she ends every conversation with how much she loves me, not waiting for me to say it first. She survived a very difficult firestorm to come out the other side a person at peace with who she is and others faults -and lets them own their own issues. She was at my wedding, loves my husband and my children and has become a pretty amazing adults.
How is it that our lives perform such intricate twists and turns? How is that the one everyone thought was confident and secure as a child ends up the one hellbent on self destruction? How is it that the one who never seemed to notice anyone else has become the student of acceptance? When is enough distance enough and when do you ignore the gap for the greater good?
I find myself a skeptic, where I used to be optimistic and faithful. Not with everyone mind you, but with the ones who seem so intent on misdirecting what is going on. I don't like game playing in my interpersonal relationships and I withdraw both physically and emotionally when I feel like that is what is happening -part of why my brother and I are no longer close. I often feel like my life reflects the Wizard of Oz. "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain." The GREAT AND POWERFUL OZ! But I do pay attention - I hear the tinkering and see the curtain moving. When I was at my lowest, I found comfort in religion, finding a grounding and home where I could allow myself to heal and choose my way. But the voices and characters from the past cannot always be ignored and sometimes they are asking us to remember when it was different and to accept the lessons and let go.
My question is -how do you know when you are supposed to stay away from the edge - and how are you supposed to know when you are supposed to jump? My sister called to let me know that choices are due and time may be running out. Time to start evaluating past choices and make new ones...
One of my favorite quotes from Bull Durham, "Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains." Seems appropriate today....
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