I was just in NYC with my daughter and had the distinct pleasure of spending a wonderful evening with a Nepali friend of hers, her friend's boyfriend and her father, who was visiting from Nepal. It was so interesting talking to her dad, especially because this was his first visit to the USA! One of the first things he said to me was also one of the most fascinating: he could not believe how QUIET it was in NYC, [compared to Nepal], because there were hardly any honking horns!! I, on the other hand, have always told my daughter that one of the things I really DON'T like about NYC is the honking horns!! Isn't it interesting how different our perspectives are?
Then, when I told him how difficult it was for me, having my kids living on opposite coasts, he said to me: "try having them live on different CONTINENTS! While this particular daughter lived in the USA, his other daughter lived in Australia!! Australia took him 10 hours to get to from Nepal and NYC took him 20 hours!! I told him I will never complain again about my kids not living closer to me! Not only that, but his daughter told me that she had once gone 3 years without even seeing her parents!! 3 years?? I go crazy going 3 months!!
Lastly, in the Nepali culture, children would never THINK of putting their parents up in hotels or nursing homes or retirement communities! No matter how small their living quarters, (and you know how small NY apartments can be!), when parents come to visit, the whole family stays together. And they come for weeks at a time! It's plain ol' r-e-s-p-e-c-t. No if's, and's or but's about it! Wouldn't we all go nuts if we had to live with our grown families for more than a week at a time??
I have always loved seeing how different cultures function, from the Amish to the Asians to even how Americans in the South live and think differently from those in the North! If only we all could just look at these differences as something to be admired and valued, rather than judged and criticized, I think this big wide world would be such a better place to live.......and we would all be the better for it!
You've cried at weddings, right? At the birth of a baby? And, of course, you've probably cried at funerals, but have you ever stopped to wonder why both happy and sad events, make you so emotional? Even worse, do you often feel like you're the only one? I will impart wisdom gleaned from professional conferences, seminars, books and articles and/or I will blog my personal thoughts. Either way, I hope you check in often, so you know that your tears are never shed in a vacuum!
Friday, August 31, 2012
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About Me
- Ms. Baby Boomer-dang
- Dallas, TX, United States
- I am an educator and consultant, in the field of loss and grief. I love educating others, as well as learning from them, about life's little and big, happy and sad losses: marriage, divorce, moving away, losing one's health, aging gracefully.....or not......death of a loved one, a pet, a dream, children growing up and parents having to let go, etc. etc. Hopefully, you get the picture. Let's laugh, cry and learn together!
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