Independent Children
My children were raised to be independent, contributing, and hopefully happy members of society. I never wanted them to be dependent on any person, including us because sooner or later, our time here will end. There is one problem with making them so independent. We never see them. I miss them. I miss the oldest silly, overtly childlike attitude of having fun. I miss the second child’s empathic views on people and the life around them and her slightly outside-the-box interpretations of it. I miss the third child’s aspiration to try everything and master many. Now they live in cities across the US and nowhere near us. That is good I suppose. It is different from many of my foreign co-workers. They try to leave America at least once a year and go visit their parents in their country of origin. Even those with parents here in America will go back and visit once every 3 years or so. The family system for them is just… different. It is more about family than it is about independence. I