Susan LaffertyIn the early 1980s, I was invited to a strategic gathering.
Large group. All different ages. Raised in countries on every continent. Brought together on purpose.
Why? To gain understanding of a term coined by Ruth Hill Useem in the 1950s.
And now found in Webster’s dictionary.
Third culture kid. TCK.
The children ask, “What do these stones mean to you?”
So they hear stories of remembrance. About the journey to the Jordan.
And the precise moment priests stuck their toes in the river. While carrying the ark of the covenant.
Their elders say the water just stopped. And piled in a heap. During flood season. When the Jordan regularly overflows its banks.
And then the riverbed lay dry before them. Ready for their crossing.
Over the holidays, we watch old movies together.
“Wait for it….”
Expecting the coming punchline. Dialogue already in our heads. And on our lips. Story summoning memory.
We anticipate what we’ve already seen.
