Who you are for me
I created a new collage workshop, called “Who You Are For Me”, and previewed it recently at my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary celebration in DC. This workshop guides people to explore and deeply acknowledge all that they appreciate about one another.
My parents and their 40+ guests, aged 7 to 83, found it surprisingly fun — most of them had never done anything like this before — as well as quite moving. It was so cool to see all these very different people willing to spontaneously do something “weird” and heart-opening to honor my folks. (My dad had been sure that only “the kids” would want to make collages.) And they had a great time!
I’m putting all the lovely collages the guests made, and their written acknowledgements, into a scrapbook for my folks. Friends and relatives from all over are also sending theirs in. Some of them are people my parents haven’t talked with in ages, and it’s so gratifying to see the pleasure these far-flung folks have anyway in acknowledging who my parents have been for them.
I think the best part for me was when my mom was looking over the pile of collages and writings afterwards. There was wonder in her voice as she noted, “all these different people keep saying how loving and creative and generous I am!” (She has it that she’s not appreciated or really known and doesn’t have any friends… and there was 40 pages of powerful evidence to the contrary.)
