This tugged at my heart strings...I'm going: how about you?
11.3.07
So easy to get lost
One of the great stories that gets told at family gatherings involved yours truly and the much-heralded tourist trap known as the Vancouver Aquarium. I really can't recall how old I was, though I must have been quite young since I don't actively remember it...only by its retelling do I even know it happened. Although the possibility of memory blockage is there too, considering that 64% of the time I involuntarily wet my pants when my dad gets to the part with the Beluga whales....
I have always been a brash, confident male (I had to say male, because I'm no longer a boy and I haven't always been a man...and no, Andrew, I wouldn't say that some would argue that I'm still not a man, thank you) and though my mouth has always been big and my stride long, getting lost was (and is) scary to me.
That day at the aquarium, I lost my parents. They tell the story in such a way that insists that they never lost sight of me, but I have always questioned that claim. Oh sure, it's fun to laugh now, probably twenty years later, but they never stop to wonder why 64% of the time, when everyone's laughing, I excuse myself to go to the bathroom (I've learned to slow the pants-peeing to a mere trickle over the years, barely noticable and alieviated by a visit to the WC)! The mental anguish is excrutiating!
I cried and cried that day until they finally "found" me. No damage done (they think...excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom....
....ok, I'm back).
As an adult, I'm not scared of getting lost physically. I've got a great sense of direction and enough knowledge (wilderness and/or driving, depending on the type of lost) to get myself out of anywhere I've ever been. No, getting lost is much more about emotions and personality now. Losing who I am and who I need to be...that's scary to me.
Over the years, I know I've lost pieces of myself and I would venture to guess that some of them have never been found (that could be good, could be bad). But I also know that when I finally realize I'm lost, I still cry and cry, just like I did that day long ago in Vancouver Aquarium...waiting....hoping...for daddy to find me and tell me I'm safe...
When kids get lost, the best advice is always to tell them to stay put, don't move and wait. I've been lost for awhile now, staying put and waiting...hoping...
I think I've only just been found. Hallelujah
I have always been a brash, confident male (I had to say male, because I'm no longer a boy and I haven't always been a man...and no, Andrew, I wouldn't say that some would argue that I'm still not a man, thank you) and though my mouth has always been big and my stride long, getting lost was (and is) scary to me.
That day at the aquarium, I lost my parents. They tell the story in such a way that insists that they never lost sight of me, but I have always questioned that claim. Oh sure, it's fun to laugh now, probably twenty years later, but they never stop to wonder why 64% of the time, when everyone's laughing, I excuse myself to go to the bathroom (I've learned to slow the pants-peeing to a mere trickle over the years, barely noticable and alieviated by a visit to the WC)! The mental anguish is excrutiating!
I cried and cried that day until they finally "found" me. No damage done (they think...excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom....
....ok, I'm back).
As an adult, I'm not scared of getting lost physically. I've got a great sense of direction and enough knowledge (wilderness and/or driving, depending on the type of lost) to get myself out of anywhere I've ever been. No, getting lost is much more about emotions and personality now. Losing who I am and who I need to be...that's scary to me.
Over the years, I know I've lost pieces of myself and I would venture to guess that some of them have never been found (that could be good, could be bad). But I also know that when I finally realize I'm lost, I still cry and cry, just like I did that day long ago in Vancouver Aquarium...waiting....hoping...for daddy to find me and tell me I'm safe...
When kids get lost, the best advice is always to tell them to stay put, don't move and wait. I've been lost for awhile now, staying put and waiting...hoping...
I think I've only just been found. Hallelujah
7.3.07
...and knowing is half the battle!
Well, some have asked about the 12 toes...no comment. (It hurts to think about all the childhood torture...kids can be so cruel!)
Also, I mentioned a new blog. I have not received clearance to reveal its location: it is available on a need-to-know basis only. If you find it, DO NOT TELL ANYONE. To do so is to put yourself, your family, your pets and all you hold sacred at risk. This comes down from on high people! WAAAAY up the food chain. Don't mess with them, beeeeelieeeve me.
Love you all much. Be blessed!
Also, I mentioned a new blog. I have not received clearance to reveal its location: it is available on a need-to-know basis only. If you find it, DO NOT TELL ANYONE. To do so is to put yourself, your family, your pets and all you hold sacred at risk. This comes down from on high people! WAAAAY up the food chain. Don't mess with them, beeeeelieeeve me.
Love you all much. Be blessed!
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