daydream postscript

i just wanted to add a clarification to my last post, in case it sounds presumptuous.  aside from the obvious fact that it is just a fun fantasy that i don’t realistically see happening, i want to express why it came up in the first place.  i guess the reason is twofold:  

in my role as family caregiver, i’ve been in a position to observe or experience the various strategies in place (or lack thereof) for aging in this country.  i don’t think this major stage of life is being adequately or appropriately addressed in our society.  i see a great deal of frustration, stress, confusion, depression, isolation, and waste in our system.  i don’t see many workable or accessible alternatives being created, or different attitudes being modeled.  so in my mind, i keep trying to visualize alternative models that promote a more holistic extended family/communal approach.  obviously i have a personal stake or interest in this subject, but it’s philosophical as well.  also i’m a hopeless hippie at heart, marooned in the very mainstream conventional world i sought to separate myself from all those decades ago.    

in my role as mother, i’ve observed the progress and sometimes, the frustration of my son in his quest to find a work/family/life model that makes sense and fulfills their dreams and goals.  it’s the eternal dilemma of how to balance the work necessary to provide family security with the need to be there for your young growing family, only in a non-conventional, more freelance and independent format.  it’s an intention i admire and want to support in any way an inadequate (and remotely located) mother can.  i understand how frustrating it can be, when you’re stretched thin, and adequate resources are not yet in sight.  so, having no tangible solutions to offer, i try to imagine scenarios  by which to make their lives easier.  if it also happens to benefit me in the process, maybe mutual benefit is the point of creating alternative communities.  and again, it’s only thoughts in my head. i’m not planning to stalk anyone to the ends of the earth with my crazy ideas!  (or so i have them think!  bwahaha!)

i just have a lot of empty time on my hands.  i have to do something with the few brain cells left.     

Leave a Reply