Unseen Connections
I made my mom cry today. I made her cry because I reminded her of the few weeks we have left together under one roof.
Me, a university student who is going into her fourth year of undergrad and is preparing to move out of the house. The rest of my siblings are moving out too, for university and a gap year program. My mom, the one who birthed four kids and has watched them grow over the years, nurturing and loving them, is preparing for all four of her children to leave home in just a few short weeks. This was the plan all along. Me and my siblings, are all around the age of moving out, it was bound to happen.
“Just not this soon,” my mom said to me with tears in her eyes.
It was only my little sister who was left at home, the rest of the siblings were moved out into university dorms and apartments that screamed adulthood, until a virus sent us all running back home in March. School and residences were shut down, summer jobs were cancelled and we gathered back in the place we’ve always called home.
It wasn’t easy, coming home when I didn’t want to. I was angry at things that were out of my control.
Before we knew it, it became normal to gather for evening movie nights and all six of us around the dinner table was something that once again became treasured.
It was not planned, most things that are out of our hands are not planned, but this time at home with my family is something I would never change. A last hurrah that has lasted a few months before we jump out of the nest. An incredibly special time of family connections that has spurred a deeper relationship with those I hold closest to my heart. A time I never thought would happen, and yet I don’t want it to be over.
“Just not this soon.”
I’ve always known that family connections were important, and something considered to be sacred and cared for. My family had always put a high priority on this, and it wasn’t until March that I saw the impact of having this sacred time of family carried within itself. It was my family who carried me through those tough days back in March, when I was hard to love. Angry at the world for things out of my control. They rallied around and reminded me of how loved I am, and how this isn’t the end. There were game nights and laughter that allowed for glimpses into life outside of the stress that comes with the world shutting down because of something so unseen.
My mom is a wise woman. She spoke these words over dinner the other night, and they’ve stuck with me ever since: “It’s crazy how unseen things, can be so seen.” I know that she was talking about the effects of the virus that has shaken our world, but to look at it in the way of family connections changes everything.
Family is deeply connected, unseen and yet is so seen.
