When she is 91, she encounters another orphan, a foster child named Molly, who interviews her for a school project. The students are instructed to ask about their journeys. "What did you choose to take with you? What did you chose to leave behind? What insights did you gain?" That spawned much discussion among us. If we had an hour to escape from our homes, what would we take. We were unanimous. Other than our family photos, a few mementos from our families, and our legal papers, there's not much that we are attached to anymore. It's only people we care about, not things.
One of the most poignant responses Vivian offers to Molly spurred even more thoughtful discussion.
"Time constricts and flattens, you know. It's not evenly weighted. Certain moments linger in the mind and others disappear. The first 23 years of my life are the ones that shaped me, and the fact that I've lived almost seven decades since then is irrelevant. Those years have nothing to do with the questions you ask."
We talked about the turning point moments in our lives that have shaped us and several revealed very painful events from their youths. One friend said that only through talk therapy was she able to face a terrible family fracture that occurred when she was 13. She had not even realized it had been such a powerful influence on her.
We agreed that being professional women struggling through the 1960s against male domination in virtually everything we did had a huge impact on our lives. Every one of us had stories about our battles with the men we worked beside or for. The inequity, the injustice, the rage!
Hostas popping!
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