by Mama Rita
Earlier today I was trying to decide whom I should call to get advice on how to handle a problem I am facing. Among my list of possible "counselors" members of the Village immediately came to mind. It feels nice knowing that I have close friends that I can go to and feel confident that they would be there when I need objective, wise counsel.
I don't know why, but I am wondering if the Village offspring have the same connection among each other as the parents have among themselves. I remember one of the Village young people admitted he called one of the Village adults (the particular situation required avoiding alerting his parents) when he needed some "financial assistance" at college. I also have heard the funny story when Tim was helping Brandon long distance with a college accounting class. Which means the Village young people would, when necessary, ask one of the adults for help. But do they go to each other for help, encouragement, advice? (And an occasional posting on Facebook doesn't count.) Or is that component of the Village relationship only among the adults?
In other words, does the Village Connection trickle down? Village young folks tell me how y'all connect!
hope, imagination, and action
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“No child should be permitted to grow up without exercise for imagination.
It enriches life for him. It makes things wonderful and beautiful.” — Mark
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3 comments:
You know I've read this post about 5 times and wasn't really sure how to answer. But the last couple of days answered the question for me. Yes, we feel comfortable enough to come to each other for advice. We also feel comfortable enough to just talk with each other. In the past 48 hours I've talked with 3 other village children and in the past week 5.
It's different being the oldest though. With the exception of the next oldest Village kid I can't say that I've gone to the Village children for advice. It's not that I don't trust them, it has just never occured to me to go to those younger than me for advice.
I will also say that our communication via Facebook, IM and text messages is just as genuine as our over-the-phone and face-to-face conversations. Yeah it's hard to interpret emotion in some of those media, but it's real nonetheless. Without those tools, I don't think the Village kids would be nearly as close as we are now.
I remember being younger when we got together and feeling like I was in a room of guests because none of us every really talked or saw each other on a regular basis. But now when we get together, I feel like I'm hanging out with my brothers and sisters. We have conversation and ask for advice about things that are happening now in our lives because we stay in touch. Without electronic communication we would never be able to trust each other enough to go to each other with issues that we deal with.
Yes, we do.
Well, Mama Rita aka Madre, funny you should ask this. I recently, really recently asked two villagers for advice on my apartment/car/off campus living predicament. I called Courtney whenever I was thinking about switching majors last year.
So I do go to them for advice from time to time. I do not stay in contact with all village kids because either I don't have their numbers (which I realize is a terrible excuse), or because I would not feel comfortable doing so. We are all relatively close, but it might be a little awkward for me to talk to certain villagers, especially on the grounds of advice, and with the acknowledgment of age gaps, gender differences, personality differences, etc.
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