Monday, February 16, 2015

Connections

I just finished reading the book
"Leaving Time"
by
Jodi Picoult
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You can never go wrong with a Jodi Picoult book.
However, the ending of this one really took me by surprise.
And I spend a good 10 minutes sobbing over it.
~
If you haven't read it, a lot of the book takes place at an elephant sanctuary.


Not only was the story itself great....but I didn't realize how intelligent and compassionate elephants are.
Even though this was a work of fiction...she really educates you on how amazing these animals really are.


Not to mention the fact that these babies are so stinkin adorable!
AND...hilarious.
They even have temper tantrums, just like our kids do.

This guy threw himself in the mud because he was mad about something.

I remember Lexie throwing herself into the bushes at Mark's parents house when she was little.  She got mad about something...and she hurled herself right into these awful, prickly shrubs.
She regretted that decision immediately...and never did it again. ;)
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The reason I bring up this book, and the reason I was a sobbing mess over it, had to do with the connection of the mother with her child.
The premise of the book is that at a very young age, a tragedy occurs at the sanctuary, and a little girl is separated from her mother.
She grows up with her grandmother, and her father is in a mental institution.
She doesn't know if her mother is alive or dead, or why she disappeared.
The story is about her quest to try and get to the bottom of this "mystery", as well as tell the back story of her parents before she was born.
~
Throughout, you also read about the bond between mother elephants and their calves.  As well as how elephants deal with grief when they lose a member of their herd.
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I think the reason I was so emotionally connected to this was for two reasons.
It is really starting to hit me how quickly my kids are growing up.
We are already setting up college tours with Lexie.....and preparing for her final year of high school.  I am in NO way ready for that.
I want to hold on to her for a few more years.
I know it will go just as quickly with Sam.


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It also hit home in the areas of losing a parent.
As I was reading, and feeling her anguish over needing answers and closure, it reminded me of parts of my own life where I feel like I never will get those answers or closure I had hoped for.
Obviously, with my dad....we will always question why it had to happen.
I will always replay everything that happened that day, and wonder what we could have done differently to change the outcome.
~
Then I consider my mom.  There are so many conversations I had hoped to have with her that will never happen.  So many questions I wish I could have answered...that will never be asked.  It's such a strange position to be in, when you have a parent who is still with you....but you will never be able to just call them up for something as simple as a family recipe, or something as important as a heartfelt discussion to mend old wounds.  It is to the point where I don't even bother to call, because she would have no idea who she was talking to anyway, so I wait until I see her in person...and hope she recognizes me.
~
Life is unpredictable.


I guess all we can do is take each day as it comes, do our best, be kind, and love each other. 


Have a great Monday. :)

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