« Welcome to Hurley field. Get your popcorn the game is about to start! | Main | Build me up, Buttercup!* »
04.27.2005 :: Ladder of years
I have written this entry 3 times. Maybe this time I'll get it right. I can't even exclaim "Damn You Blogger!" as a lot of bloggers seem to be doing as of late. I have no one to blame but myself.
Last night I ignored the baby sweater sleeve and finished reading Ladder of Years. Anne Tyler is one of my favorites. I enjoyed this book but it touched something in me that I could not put my finger on until Annie left this message to my Ho-Hum post of April 21st.
"You know what? I remember being "down" when I read that book too. I tend to pick up moods from the books I read. Maybe that's what you're doing? "
~Annie
I read her comment and gave it no thought that evening. You know, Annie, I think you are absolutely right!
The book is about a mother that walks away from her family, literally and suddenly. She stays away for over a year and has no contact with them while she is gone. This book totally unsettled me. I'm going to just free write out the list why:
~leaving your children. Not cool
~missing your child's high school graduation. Damaging to say the least
~Not even wondering or taking the time to check on your own children after your abandonment
Now, you may be wondering if I have been abandoned myself. Well, no. But it does not take much imagination to figure out that it is one of the more hurtful things in life. I think we have all had those "I Have to get out of here!" thoughts. Seriously, who hasn't? But we do not act on them. What would happen if every wife and mother took off every time they had a crisis? I would have been gone 3 times this week alone! :)
There. I wrote on the book like I had planned. I did not psychoanalize myself, which frankly would have bored you to tears. There is, needless to say, much more to the book. This is only my reaction to it.
Tonight I have a date with a difficult sleeve. I think it's transformed! It had better! Or I may just walk off and abandon it!
:)
Posted by Sandy on 04.27.2005 AT 05:26 PM
Comments
Typepad has been slow/down too--whats up with that?? There must be an overload of knitter blogs going up!
Posted by: renada on 04.28.2005 AT 11:05 AM
I can definitely pick up a mood from a book. Not cool is right.
Posted by: Vicki on 04.28.2005 AT 10:58 AM
I think what she did was totally selfish and being so self-absorbed goes against everything we think a mother should be. A "good mother" would never do that, is what we instinctively think. Maybe what she did is the best thing for her kids...maybe she *was* being a good mother? Was it harder on her than them? I'll have to re-read the book to refresh my memory.
~~
Just so you know, I'm doing a happy dance because you said I was right!! That's the first time I've heard that all week! Must remember to tell my kids. ;)
Posted by: Annie on 04.28.2005 AT 08:26 AM
I've read several Tylers too and found myself pissed off at Delia in Ladder of Years. I hope we weren't supposed to be too sympathetic. (Kind of similar feeling in Patchwork Planet, but less severe.) I think Back When We Were Grownups and Breathing Lessos are my faves.
Posted by: Lauren on 04.27.2005 AT 11:54 PM
It's such a sad and scary thought that someone could get to that point. Whatever they are experiencing is so overwhelming that they make the choice to leave. Could they be trying to protect the children in their own way?
Posted by: Mary Beth on 04.27.2005 AT 08:41 PM
You just made me curious about the book. I think I'll add it to my book list. Also brings to mind Judy Blunt's book, Breaking Clean, but hers is walking away from a whole 'nother life.
Posted by: MJ on 04.27.2005 AT 07:17 PM
No you won't walk away from that sleeve. You will nuture it and make sure it grows up to be a better sleeve. You can't do anything else. Remember, it's for a baby that was determined to be born!
Posted by: Chris on 04.27.2005 AT 07:00 PM
I just found out this weekend from my Dad, that my cousin who is only a few weeks older than me (~34ish), has recently walked out on her husband and 3 children. Just upped and walked away. No-one knows why, and she won't talk to anyone, including her mother. I just can't imagine doing anything like that.
Posted by: Donna on 04.27.2005 AT 06:14 PM
Sandy, my email isn't working, but we're on for tomorrow. I don't need a pickup. I'll call in the AM with details as I have them. Probably about 1.
Posted by: stephanie Pearl-McPhee on 04.28.2005 AT 04:54 PM