Obey, Obey, Obey, Then Do What You

The Classics Tell Us That, In Relationships, The One Between Teacher And Student Comes Second Only To The One Between Parent And Child.

Sisters, As You Know, Also Have A Unique Relationship. This Is The Person Who Has Known You Your Entire Life, Who Should Love You And Stand By You No Matter What, And Yet It's Your Sister Who Knows Exactly Where To Drive The Knife To Hurt You The Most.

Maybe We're All Like That With Our Mothers. They Seem Ordinary Until One Day They're Extraordinary.

Our Words Had To Be Circumspect. We Could Not Write Anything Too Negative About Our Circumstances. This Was Tricky, Since The Very Form Of A Married Woman's Letter Needed To Include The Usual Complaints -- That We Were Pathetic, Powerless, Worked To The Bone, Homesick, And Sad. We Were Supposed To Speak Directly About Our Feelings Without Appearing Ungrateful, No-account, Or Unfilial.

It's Funny How In That Moment I See Things Clearly. Am I Beaten Down? Yes. Have I Allowed Myself To Become A Victim? Somewhat. Am I Afraid? Always. Does Some Part Of Me Still Long To Fly Away From This Place? Absolutely. But I Can't Leave. Sam And I Have Built A Life For Joy. It Isn't Perfect, But It's A Life. My Family's Happiness Means More To Me That Starting Over Again. Page 210