Fall Weekend Debrief
Well, last week was a bit of a rough one. Probably because you got no homework done while your family was visiting, so each day was like a game of "I have to do 3 days' worth of work in 2 hours" and still talk to your mom on the phone, even though you just saw her.
And I'm not saying you weren't grateful to see her. You were thrilled! You loved talking to her, you got to Rat less, and she brought you cookies from your favorite bakery at home!
You did the usual — you walked to India Point Park, you bumped into some acquaintances and their parents in the Blue Room, you negotiated how much time you would spend doing work and how much you would spend with the fam. As always, your mother was right: she had come from California to see you, and you would regret it if you didn't spend time with her. So you prioritized her. #noregerts
However, as always, you were (also) right: you had a mountain of work to do, and you would regret it if you didn't do it. And you did. You regretted it on Monday morning at 9 am when you arrived at the Rock to cram in some work time before class, and you regretted it when you finally returned home at midnight that night. And as the week continued, getting your work done was like trying to run on a treadmill that's getting faster and faster and then, like a hero from America's Funniest Home Videos, you fall, smacking your face on the treadmill as it whirs you off the back of it.
You were both right. And that's the problem with parents. They know stuff, sometimes, which makes it so much harder when you disagree. Invite them to your college life, and the world kind of implodes. You've been told you can live independently. They don't know when you got home on Saturday night, unless you tell them. But also, they've known you for a while. You'd like to show them your new life. And you do. Even when it means not really sleeping the week after. And even if it means they shake hands with two people you've hooked up with, one after the other, at a potluck in your friend's apartment.
And then, all your friends are like "it was so nice to have my brother here. He took shots with my friends, but also I have so much work to do now" and "my parents and I had such a lovely time, but now I'm swamped with work" and "everyone else's parents took me out to eat because mine weren't here, and I got no work done" and you realize it's the same thing, over and over again. And then you wonder, is this the nature of life? That nothing is wholly good, or wholly bad? That Sirius Black was right, and the world isn't divided into good people and Death Eaters? And then you get further confirmation that binaries are a stupid way of looking at the world, and that Fall Weekend and having family visit you at college and doing fun things instead of working are all fine things: they suck, and they're also great.
And once you get to this point, you'll feel ok again. You'll know how privileged you are to be able to say that having a fun time with your mother last weekend was why you didn't get your work done. You'll call your mom and apologize for when you yelled at her. And you'll begin to look forward to next Fall Weekend. Maybe your brother will come...
Photos From:
https://brunonia.brown.edu/alumni/events/info/reunions
https://trailsandwalksri.wordpress.com/category/india-point-park/
