I first saw this meme at Charlotte Otter's. I kept thinking about it because 1> the syntax drove me crazy and 2> her childhood was so place-based and mine was not. I couldn't imagine how I might adapt it... But then I came up with this.
I am from a country so big that I grew up near one ocean and am raising my children near another.
I am from possibility. I am from opportunity. From a father, the 2nd oldest of 13 children, who lived (is living) his dream, who retired to accolades, admiration and respect. Who paid for my college education and encouraged me to do whatever I liked. Who encouraged me to want something and then go get it.
I am from a mother raised on a farm, who knows how to be still so that the animals gather around her, who watches birds everywhere she goes, knows their names and their calls. I am from a mother who values small creatures, who values quiet and harmony. I am from a woman who's proud of her work as a wife and mother, who knows that what she does and who she is matters.
I am from freedom of movement. I am from a childhood lived in three states, six towns. I am from an itinerant early adulthood, I am from travel through 13 countries. I am from parents who own two houses, one on each side of the continent, and who now travel abroad three times a year.
I am from physical grace, from a body strenghtened and controlled, in balance. I am from physical ability. I am from parents who climbed a mountain in their 60s. I am from a sister who raced a half-Ironman.
I am from intelligence. I am from competence. I am from responsibility -- for oneself, and to others.
I am from generosity. I am from a woman who cared for her mother for a decade. I am from parents married for
I am from parents who keep their personal lives obscured from their children. I am from emotional stoicism. I am from silence. Yet I am from laughter.
I am not from a place, but I am from a family.
11 comments:
What a beautiful and powerful post.
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I will return to read this mail again
So, so beautiful. From family, not place: perfect.
Wow, Jennifer. Wow.
Amazing. What a way to spin this. I'm glad to have a glimpse at where you're from.
I loved this. From family and not from place is where I am now, though I spent my first 18 years in the same town. Been travelling ever since.
I loved the strong sense of your parents and who they are, and how, implicitly, you came to be who you are. I liked how being physical and being outdoors is important. What lucky children you have, to have come from you.
Aw, shucks. Thanks everyone.
Charlotte, I feel lucky to have the parents and sisters (and brothers-in-law) that I do. My husband's family is equally wonderful. I can see the sense of security that this gives my children, who spend a lot of time with both families.
Also, my husband is very definitely from a place, so they'll have that, too.
That is really lovely! I enjoyed your description of your mom a lot.
this is lovely. thanks for hsarking...
Wow, Jennifer. The strength, confidence and love of this piece is overpowering. The writing is sublime.
Gorgeous--I love this. Way more than the fluffy entry I just posted about my dad!
Beautiful!
- Jennifer (Faking It)
This is lovely. I particularly love the "physical grace, from a body strengthened and controlled, in balance". I always love your sporting stories - it seems such a big part of your life. And as a fellow ex-gymnast, you've captured that perfectly.
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