Skunk Documentaries

My father has long been a NatGeo fan. When we were children, he subscribed to the magazine, that was back in the 70's. He collected piles of them, often referring to them, and even re-reading them. When we had school projects, they were his first source of information. Even better when they came out with television, documentaries of every sort then they came out with their own network! He watched documentaries from all around the world. And when I was in India in 2005, in great awe and appreciation for all we saw and experienced, I thought of my father and the years of documentaries. They had been enlightening, inspiring, perspective broadening, and educational...a wonderful part of my growing-up years.

When I returned from India, I wanted to motivate my dad, showing him picture after picture, story after story of all we had seen. He enjoyed it thoroughly, adding more historical and geographical input. Then I asked him, "You have to go to India and see it for yourself, when can we go together." His simply reply, "No thanks, I enjoy seeing these places from the comfort of the sofa."

And so it is, and so it continues, some people just do not want to travel too far from home or from what is comfortable. Yet it happened again one night, as I found myself sitting with my parents during Christmas break and two weeks home with them. Sitting with my parents for the first time in four years, and what did we do you ask? We watched a documentary of course! Having traveled to many countries, and been introduced to various cultures and languages, having had life-changing experiences, an expanded world-view and perspective, been challenged in every way, seen things that they cannot even imagine. And, this is re-entry. We sat, together, and it was ok. We watched a documentary, this time about skunks. Yes skunks!

I did not understand why watching an hour worth of information about skunks was important and not talking to me about my travels, adventures, and experiences. One might have felt hurt except that my life was, and perhaps even still is, so far removed from that of my parents. The years in Peru cannot be summed up in one hour, even though I have tried in my re-entry with various presentations. The depth of change, growth, questioning and vulnerability cannot be summed up in a one hour documentary. Or perhaps it could but it just has not been done yet!

At that point, it had been six months. Parents are just happy that their daughter has returned to them, safe and sound. The daughter, instead, grieving, missing people, friends, parishioners and places. Mixed feelings of being happy to be with ones family sometimes gives way to sadness for the unknown period of time before one sees others loved as deeply in a far-off land.

And much like the beginning of my months at language school in Bolivia, I have stumbled over my words, often not understood certain phrases or expressions, not understood some of the new technology that greeted me back in Canada. There have been moments of not contributing to some conversations because I am simply not as interested as I used to be with a certain level of small-talk or superficial conversation or because those engaged in the conversation were using language, colloquialisms, or expressions from daily cultural norms, norms I had not yet integrated.

My father said that I didn't have to stay and watch the skunk documentary with them. But even in the midst of what I did not understand, I wanted to be with them, to just sit with them, to be grateful for them and their support in my life. I told him, "Dad, skunks don't interest me but you do." And so goes the adjusting and re-adapting to new realities and the figuring out who I am in the turbulence of it all.

Can I be grateful for skunk documentaries...sure! (once every four years or so)

With grace & peace...and blessings and more grace to those in their re-entries!

Fran