D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T

I’ve taken increasing steps towards physical, intellectual and financial independence in the past few years. To wit, I’ve lived abroad, held steady paying jobs and don’t feel the rush of possessing books/movies/DVDs without having told my parents about each and every purchase. On the other hand, I’ve grown more dependent in other ways. I faithfully phone/Skype my family every weekend which helps me remember that the Peace Corps identity need not overwhelm the other parts of Steven. Furthermore, CARE PACKAGES! They’re absolutely wonderful, but it means disclosing one’s needs/wishes to one’s parents in a way that one has not done since one turned 16 and had disposable income and access to a car. Thankfully, my parents don’t bat an eye at any of my food/entertainment requests – mostly they just say “You wouldn’t eat that at home!” or “Huh, we’ll have to watch that.” Same for the Kindle for PC (gracious thanks to our friends at Amazon) – we have a joint account so my parents can see what I bought and read the books as well. We’ve all finished at least a few books in the Millenium trilogy by Stieg Larsson and are also working our way through the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith. They also really seem to like The Tudors. We’ve moved beyond “That’s…interesting,” which just made me realize how terribly aggravating the polite “Fine” is in response to “How was your day?” when repeated ad nauseam. I’m glad that we don’t share every interest, but that my parents are engaged in my life and want to know what I’m reading/watching/doing. However, if they really want to know about ma vie intellectuelle, il faut qu’ils apprennent le français (they must learn French). Another great reason to learn foreign languages!