Beeping, BEing, and Scratching That Itch

I've been on the road again. Over an 8-day period I drove 3,000 miles. I'm so tired of driving that I don't even want to go three miles to the Pig(gly Wiggly) for milk! My three-year-old daughter and I once again braved the Nefarious North to visit our beloved ones, and to bring my oldest back to Mississippi for a few weeks of country livin'.

During the course of our long drive home, her cell phone was beeping every three minutes. Fingers moved fast and furious as text messages flew between her and her classmates. Most of them kept asking her every two hours, "Are you there YET?" I had to laugh--my three-year-old only asked that twice on the entire trip!

One of my daughter's friends sympathized with the boredom of the long drive, and then said he felt sorry for her because he just knew there would be nothing to do in Mississippi. She texted back, retorting that there was plenty to do in Ole Miss, hit the send button, and then looked at me questioningly: "Mom, just what is there to do in Mississippi? --Besides spend time with you, I mean?"

I laughed again, and started a long list of things she might enjoy doing during her stay with me. She looked at me a little skeptically, and came back with a list of things her friends enjoy doing in their spare time--most of which are entirely consumer-oriented and not inexpensive.

I listened, and then noted that those activities are dependent on the service and entertainment industries, all of which suffer during economic recession. Times are hard, and they are going to get harder.

I posed this challenge to my thirteen-year-old daughter: "You are used to a lifestyle based on GOing and DOing. What would happen if you had to adopt a lifestyle based on BEing? Could you create your own diversions? Could you grow to fully appreciate the miraculous, interconnected world in which we live?"

We rode in silence for a while. I noted that in the rural South, life is based more on BEing. People tend to be more aware of their connection with, and dependence upon, the Earth. Most of us in the country have the opportunity to be more self-sustaining than people who live in cities, and can therefore be less impacted by hard times.

I went on to tell her that she has a unique opportunity in life: to experience both sides of the coin, since one parent lives in a large northern city and one parent lives in a small town in the rural South. By learning from, understanding, and appreciating both environments and both ways of life, she can perhaps make a greater difference for good when her generation assumes the mantle of leadership. Her generation will face critical decisions about how to manage and sustain the limited resources we take for granted, and will be forced to implement very hard changes in order to ensure the future of the human race.

The rest of our trip was lighthearted, and when we got home, she wanted to read my blog to absorb more anecdotes about rural life. After several posts, she said, "Nice blog, Mom...but my butt itches from two days in the car. I can't sit anymore!", and ran out to play in the water hose and enjoy our gorgeous green slice of paradise. I had to agree that the garden was the perfect antidote for a bad case of road rear, and followed her out.

It has taken a day or two, but she has shifted very nicely into the country mode of living. I hope it blesses her the way it has blessed me.