Interior Cartography #2

Interior Cartography #2---- Descanso #1

The first memorial on this labyrithine road is that of a young child who was abandoned.

The child was the younger, nearly seven years younger than her sister. She was also the youngest of the grandchildren. One might think a child like this would be over-indulged. She certainly was not. Her strict Swedish grandmother, and her even more strict parents, were of the old school: children should be seen and not heard. There was very little corporal punishment. It was simply understood: "you will behave."

However, the child was a handful. Her mother wrote in a baby-journal "she certainly is her own person." To this day, it is a mystery what the mother meant by this statement but it has been concluded that the child had her own mind and way of doing things, and needed to be reined in on occasion.

The child loved school-- at first-- and could not get enough of all the interesting things taught there. She went to the library three times a week. Her father, after an 11 hour day at work, indulged this activity by taking her there. And books-- there were books everywhere-- more books than toys. (This was odd since the parents did not have the time or inclination to read themselves. ) The child had a new interest each week: dolls one week, playing with toads and building mud castles the next.

But then it changed. One day Grandma had a stroke that left her as a vegetable for the next eight years. The child's mother became the caretaker and from that moment on, the child was left to her own devices. This had some advantages. For example, the child would hole up for hours without being bothered to read or draw or paint. Creativity flourished. However, the disadvantages: the child had no guidance in the things that young girls needed to know. There was no guidance on things like college or career choices. Even guidance on how to navigate herself through social situations was absent. School, so loved at one time, became a daily nightmare. The child grew up to be a nerd. Fortunately, she had a small handful of nerdy friends and each kept the others from going totally astray.

The child has grown into a woman. The woman does not blame the parents for their benign neglect. It was what it was with everyone doing the best they could given the circumstances. Her father has even acknowledged in his old age that the child was left too much alone.

But to put the past to rest, I leave this memorial to that child and her abandonment. May they rest in peace.

Gloyd (c) May 18, 2006