Like My Parents!!!
The apple doesn’t fall far from
the tree is an expression that Jill in Baggage burdens. would passionately challenge. Her reaction
would be one of shock. “I’m like my parents. Not a chance.”
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Jill wouldn’t make the mistake her
mother made of marrying a social drinker. Her father’s drinking spread from
Saturday evenings in the bar to drinking weeknights. He frequently came home
drunk, yelling and many times violent.
No way Jill would be like her
father. “I don’t drink,” Jill would argue. “I don’t even hang around with any
one who drinks.”
After Jill ran away from home, desperate,
she took a chance by moving in with a social drinking friend. While under the
influence, he broke his promise to her and stole a kiss. His indiscretion, in
part, caused her to run away again and cement her conviction that no one who
drinks can be trusted.
Jill’s commitment to avoiding
moderate drinkers was tested once again when she lived in Camrose. Two boys
attempted to win her affection. Easy-going Ben didn’t realize his social
drinking would be a disadvantage. Joseph didn’t indulge.
Unlike her mother, Jill intended to
be the most important person in her children’s lives. There would be no hint
that she would betray them by siding with her husband. Jill knew first hand the
pain a child feels when the mother attempts to defend the father.
There was one aspect in particular that Joseph, Jill’s husband, chose to be different from his parents. Their ambition caused them to try to drive home one stormy winter night. They drove into the ditch and froze to death leaving Joseph, an eight year old with no parents. He missed their love. He promised himself he would be content with what he had. He would never drive in poor weather if he had a family.
In what way(s) have you chosen to
live differently from your parents?
Next post, the Mirror, looks at
how Baggage burdens. shows how many of the
parent’s values mold their children.
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