Ironies
I could not get away from my parents' house fast enough. It wasn't them. It was me. Or rather, the fact that I didn't belong in that town. It didn't matter what I did, I just wanted out. And so, I went to college and never looked back. (Yes, I realize that between my sisters and me, we could flesh out the plot of a Sarah Dessen novel very well.)
And here I find myself, 20-some years later, connected via the internet to the place I once despised. What? the reader says. You willingly plug yourself in to the place that shattered your dreams like a dropped spun sugar ornament? You know you don't have to admit that the place is out there. You can, aside from the times you see your mom and dad, just choose to ignore it.
Yes, yes, I could. Except that a couple of years ago, on a trip to mom and dad's, I found a fantastic radio station. And from where does that station broadcast? At a university just outside where my parents live. Like many stations, at Christmas time, they play holiday music 24/7. But this isn't just your parents' music. We do get Perry Como and Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis and Eartha Kitt. However, they also play Harry Connick Jr, Christina Perri, Jack Johnson, and Matthew West. I've been opened to the world of Brandon and Leah as well as David Ian. And of course, now the kids ask for it.
So on days like today, when Melina and I are at home, bopping to Christmas music as we fold the clothes, I listen to the local weather and news (which isn't all that local considering the station is 4 hours north of here), realizing that all of the details are ones I had hoped to long forget. Which just means, in the spirit of Christmas, that I need to forgive so that I can forget.
And here I find myself, 20-some years later, connected via the internet to the place I once despised. What? the reader says. You willingly plug yourself in to the place that shattered your dreams like a dropped spun sugar ornament? You know you don't have to admit that the place is out there. You can, aside from the times you see your mom and dad, just choose to ignore it.
Yes, yes, I could. Except that a couple of years ago, on a trip to mom and dad's, I found a fantastic radio station. And from where does that station broadcast? At a university just outside where my parents live. Like many stations, at Christmas time, they play holiday music 24/7. But this isn't just your parents' music. We do get Perry Como and Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis and Eartha Kitt. However, they also play Harry Connick Jr, Christina Perri, Jack Johnson, and Matthew West. I've been opened to the world of Brandon and Leah as well as David Ian. And of course, now the kids ask for it.
So on days like today, when Melina and I are at home, bopping to Christmas music as we fold the clothes, I listen to the local weather and news (which isn't all that local considering the station is 4 hours north of here), realizing that all of the details are ones I had hoped to long forget. Which just means, in the spirit of Christmas, that I need to forgive so that I can forget.
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