Family Cyber-Reunion

It wasn't too long ago that I wrote of my mother's weblog - the SoapBox Papers. I visit there from time to time - since I read rather fast, I can catch up on her world rather quickly and conveniently (At the speed of Taran). That's part of the good of blogging.

But then, as I was checking out the referrals to the site, I found referrals from a site I'm not used to seeing - and found Uncle Bob, my mother's brother, who is also now blogging. Even as he peers into my world, I'll peer into his. I'm not as close with that side of the family, mainly because of a small problem of geography. You may call that small problem distance.

And through Uncle Bob's site, I found his cousin Arnell's site... Where there are some pics of Uncle Doug and his graduation. I remember Uncle Doug, when I was much younger, and he was a pretty good Uncle back then, though he and Aunt Thea did take a lot of the fun out of trying to get into trouble at times. They can't stop me now!

So it's good to see some familiar faces in cyberspace. Looking back, the longest I stayed in one place growing up was in Trinidad and Tobago - 8 years. The maximum time I have spent in one place since then has been 6 years. So while I'm seeing a lot of the world, and learning a lot of things - people envy that, and they think it would be great to do that. But they do not realize that life comes in chunks of space-time for me - where when I finally get back to a place, it has completely changed. Sometimes that is for the better. Sometimes it's for the worse.

Moving around is not better or worse than staying in one place for one's entire life, it's just very different. I'm blessed with good friends that I get to know, and try to stay in touch... but often enough, the world around demands more of your focus when you're eyes, ears, and skin crave the motion that keeps the wind in the hair. There's a lot of attention to details one has to pay while in motion, and even though I have actually tried to settle a few times - it just doesn't work out well. Not yet, anyway. I'm always looking to the horizon, or peering under a rock... just as I do the same with more academic pursuits. "What's over there, and why is it doing that?!" is something you would expect me to say - though you would be at a disadvantage as I move closer to whatever it is.

But now and then, I wonder how my nieces in Beloit, Wisconsin are doing - if they are well, if they are happy. They are smart; they have the capacity to do well. But they are different, and perhaps because they stayed less mobile, they do not see the world as I do. I'm often not sure if I see the world as I do. They want me to visit, I know, but that's a fair distance away and very cold. Uncle Taran likes warm climates. The novelty of water falling in crystals has long worn off, I have studied enough snowflakes before they melted on my fingers.

I think my sister would be good at weblogging. She has a way of capturing the intricacies of a story that, probably because of a short attention span, I sometimes do not. And from what I hear, my brother used to visit but was critical of the fact that I do not write much of my personal life. With his degree in psychology (I think), I expect he would - but this is just me - the INTJ, the Third Culture Kid who roves around looking for... something.

Of course, one of the most supportive things anyone has ever said to me has come from my mother the last time I saw her. She told me, simply, "I like what you are doing with your life.". Would that my father had an idea of what I am doing, but in fairness I have no idea what he is doing. Alike in so many ways, yet so different in so few ways.

A blogging family. That would probably make reunions something I could better do. For those in the family that do read this - yes, I do think of you. But I know that you're mainly OK, especially the younger ones, though I have my Unclish doubts at times.

Now, what's over there and why is it doing that?!