Parallel Universe

We went back to Rochester for a long weekend last month. It was amazing to see that many people that we knew. Not a concept to be taken for granted, (I have learned now). I went home feeling homesick. But, settled right back into a busy month at work.

2 weeks later, (last weekend), my parents came to visit. And the wall broke, the parallel universe was shifted. They were in my apartment. My little world, my new world, my Brooklyn. I have been thinking about this all week long, how to explain the notion of moving away from your family, creating a new life for yourself and them visiting. The parallel universe explanation is the only way I can describe it. My parents have not seen where I lived in years. They didn't come over for dinner when we lived in Rochester. They didn't just stop by. My life with Brendan has always been separate from my life with them. And even more separate now that I live here.

I live in a parallel universe.

I had to pretend for a whole afternoon that I knew where I was going while playing tour guide. I never know where I am going. Not without Google Maps. I got to see my Mom standing on the subway. The second day she had to do it, she just didn't understand why this was easier than owning a car. She said something out of the blue, something she wanted to say and was just looking for an excuse to say it: "You were just looking for an excuse to move away from me". It was light hearted, a joke. But she meant it.

It's heartbreaking that she would take my move so personally. But, she is my mom and that is her right. Another thing said is worth noting now. I was discussing my move with a cousin in May at a family wedding. She was talking about her sister, who moved to Philly years ago: "It took me a couple years, but, I realized she's never moving back". And about 30 minutes and another glass of wine later, she told my mother: "She's never moving back you know." And she did. At first, she said she knew it was just something I/we had to do, we'd be back, some day. And I always thought so too.

But, I couldn't imagine life any different. Parallel universe and all.