Here I am in Parentland. I'm staying for three weeks. Theoretically, this makes a lot of sense, as there is no particular reason for me to be in Deep South Town over winter break; our little library is unimpressive, the campus will be closed for most of the break anyway, and the most exciting thing to do in town is visit the Super Wal-Mart.
So why do I find it so difficult to get any work done in Parentland?
I would be feeling less guilty about this if I were actually partaking of the delights of Big East Coast City, but in fact, I have mostly stayed in the house re-reading children's books and enjoying the wireless Internet. For some reason, every time I visit my folks, my brain seems to turn into mush. I have three brand-new classes to prep and a paper to write for SAA, but neither of these things is happening at any noticeable speed. Nor have I bought any Christmas presents, because somehow, the "Christmas = four days from now" equation is just not computing.
Is anyone else feeling completely lazy, too?
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3 comments:
I'm in the same boat - or rather, the same Parentland. I arrived here on the 11th of December and am finding it very difficult to actually do anything productive. I've translated about a page of Murimuth, and just in the last two days managed to pull myself together to make the post on Froissart that I've been meaning to make for a while. Though it's turned into three posts. Which may have been why I was procrastinating about it - the instinct that it was turning monstrous.
My theory is that the brain-torpor of Parentland has to do with the way as soon as you're back with them you slip back into I HAVE NO RESPONSIBILITIES mode. Your day is shaped by the movements of family members around you, coming and going - which means that it will continue to move on and have shape even if you do nothing and continue with lassitude.
And - shame! - you even let them consistently foot the bill at the coffee shop.
Yes, I think your Parentland is exactly the same as my Parentland, even if they are technically on opposite ends of the world. Funny how that happens...
Parentland is everywhere. Kind of like Dreamland.
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