The Sick and the Poor

There are moments in ones life when you realize your are an adult and still a child at the same time.  It began with an explanation of Monticello on a nickel to my daughter which included the obligatory home of Thomas Jefferson and progressed into it was based on Italian villa design from the Renaissance, although I see the exact building in my head damn if I can remember the architect.  I realized that I was an adult in passing down vital information yet still a child because I couldn’t help myself from adding bits of information that were probably more confusing to my daughter than helpful.

Move ahead an hour and I am standing in front of a class full of students expounding on film and wondering if chalk was getting on my sweater.  Oh duality of thoughts!  Don’t forget to discuss R.W. Paul and I wonder how many of my students are older than me.  At least that duality is something I have learned to handle.  I just hate it when I find my mind wandering as I’m talking to something totally unrelated to my discussion.

Later that same evening, my daughter has somehow managed to stay awake past her bedtime by almost 3 hours complaining of sore throat, not tired, thirsty, stomach hurts, where’s Gordon, more songs, finger hurts, and why is there an infinite amount of stars in the sky yet my ceiling only has 12.   My wife even suggested that our daughter was hallucinating, which does actually run in my side of the family.  At least I remember the man talking to me through the TV even if my mother said it was turned off.  The parent says I hope she is okay and nothing is wrong.  Your heart breaks because you know she can’t understand the experience to the fullest to be able to convey vital health information.  The child just wonders where my hallucinations went now that I fully know the experience and health information is the priority.

No matter the situation, you have those moments of clarity where you clearly see the split between child and adult.  I want a new Macbook Air and was downright giddy as it was introduced.  The child in me says shiny and cool, it’s mine!  The adult says shiny and cool, it could be mine!  Perhaps those moments do not apply to announcements from Apple.