Roots and Wings. Anyone familiar with this concept? Admittedly, I recently saw a Pinterest post that said, "the greatest gifts we can give our children are roots and wings" with a graphic of a tree with it's root system showing and a bird flying away from the tree. It stuck with me for days. I Googled 'Roots and Wings.' and got a slew of different responses...everything from a preschool (several, actually) to more Pinterest posts, to variations on the quote I saw, to a blog post and stores of various types.
In all of this I have yet to find the source of it's origin, or to whom the quote is attributed (I saw it once attributed to Jonas Salk, but cannot substantiate that.). I love the concept of Roots and Wings, given that my college daughter is getting her education presently in New York. I believe in the power of family, in knowing your roots, in knowing about your ancestors and your family background. I don't know a lot of mine, and maybe that is part of the tug I feel for her to know her roots.
We know bits and pieces of her roots on her father's side of the family, both maternal and paternal. We can trace back MY mother's parents to (I think) the 1600's, maybe the 1700's, in Finland. We know very little of MY father's ancestors...and no-one who does know seems to be talking! Either that, or we just don't know who does know! Apparently, Wong is a very popular name in China and Field(s) has a lot of play in the United Kingdom!
So, we have a fairly close knit family unit in her generation and in our generation and even in our parents generation, but going back any further than that has been sketchy. Could it be that we all were given wings and that has contributed to the missing information of our roots? Or it could just be poor record keeping?
So now to the wings. When it came time to let her wings spread and "leave the nest" I nudged her out the door, to Virginia, with encouragement and glee, then shed tears with other mothers who were letting their baby birds fly, too. Although I suspect their tears were more of abandonment, I think mine were relief? Or abandonment? Maybe? Or fear?
Either way, she left. And then she came back...for summer. Then she left, again. Only this time to New York. Not that much farther than Virginia, but still, farther. I love that she has flown all the way across the country, that she is brave and exploring new territories, and meeting new people and gaining her independence. I dread that she hates to be alone (not lonely, per se, just alone). I love that she has it in her mind what she wants and how to get there. I dread that she is doing soooooooo far away from me! I love that horses are integral to her choice of higher education. I dread that horses are integral to her choice of higher education!
If anyone reading this has any insight into the "roots" of the Roots and Wings origins, please help a mother out! We will most certainly be touching on this subject again, as it continues to play a role in my life, and her life, and possibly even the lives of future generations.
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