Blogging Again

Returning Home
Leslie K. Price

It has been nearly a month since I last blogged and for the month prior to that, had found myself with less time to devote to this pursuit than I would like.  In the ebb and flow of life-between the challenges of work, family, and personal needs-somethings rise up and others fall to the back by necessity.  Once the pause happened, I felt that I would only return when I felt I could potentially return to regular entries.  I am hopeful that I now can.  How did I feel when I wasn't immersed in the blogosphere?  I missed the outlet for the "connections" I made while seeing patients and carried on my day to day clinical practice.  I dearly missed writing and the reward that comes from completing a creative endeavor.  I felt I had set aside some good friends, even though these are friends I know only from their writing and their "profiles".  On some levels, I felt unburdened of the "deadlines" I had set for myself for writing and I realized (AGAIN) that the blog is for me-an outlet, a connection- and not an obligation!
So I return.  Hopefully stronger than before, with renewed vigor and interest.  I hope you are still out there reading...

Homecoming-Parenting Again

Zanzibar!

October 14, 2011 my son departed for the African continent.  More than 6 months later, he will soon return and my life will be changed, in ways I cannot yet predict.  Like many young adults, my son needed time to figure out where he wanted to take his life.  Together, we opted for time volunteering in Africa as a way for him to "get away" while giving back something.  His first 3 months were spent building civic projects in the hills of Eastern Ghana.  I know only a little of his time there but he lived with no electricity or running water in a place that was equatorial hot.  He met volunteers from all over the world and seemed to have his eyes opened to many things about himself, being American, and regarding world politics.  It seems work was easy as the Ghanaians are soooo friendly but not sooo hard working. He then traveled east to Tanzania where he lived in finer accommodations but had to struggle to teach English and math to students in an orphanage.  Again he met many people and gained insight into how hard teaching is, the impact of a tourist economy, and the beauty of Mt. Kilimanjaro.  Of course, it wasn't all hard work and no play-he did treat himself to a short but impressive (his experience) safari and a week on the spectacular beaches of Zanzibar-a place of which most of us can only dream.
His path home took him through England where he traveled to see family, family-friends, fellow volunteers from Africa and to pay tribute to his deceased grandparents.  During his time there, I know he has been scrubbed clean and obtained some fresh clothes-slowly shedding the layers of Africa from his ski, hair and cloth.  But I suspect even when he stands back on American soil, that Africa will not leave his system so easily.  How this experience will change him, our (and others) relationship, and his dreams and future plans, will only emerge slowly over time.  I will do what I can to support his re-entry but I too have learned things during his time away-I know I can never return to how we co-existed in past years, that I need not completely sacrifice my health and happiness to accommodate an "angry young man".  I know that being a good parent (mother) means more than opening a wallet, preparing a meal, lending the car, or greasing the way.  It is also letting go, allowing them to fall, forcing them to confront, refusing to lower standards, and holding your head high.  Parenting-the hardest work I have ever done and ever expect to do.
Wish me luck!

And Finally Spring

Madison Square Park
May 1, 2011
(Taken by author)

Spring has been slow in coming to NY but last weekend, we had the spectacular combination of warm (but not hot) and sunny to highlight the fast ripening beauty of spring all over NY.  As we approached Madison Square Park, these candy-colored tulips just leapt into our visual pathways and exploded upon retina and occipital lobes.  Finally, the days of black and white are over for the next 6 months.  My garden will soon blossom chives while the hellebores, bleeding hearts, and azaleas brilliant color swatches to the garden canvas.
Sunday was also a special day on an entirely different level-I quietly celebrated my 23rd anniversary with the man who has brought such joy and love to my life. Here's looking at you-for at least another 32!!!