28 up and Side Effects

One half of the title of this post is an homage to the British documentary series about the hopes and aspirations of a diverse group of children seen at the ages of 7, 14, 21, 28, etc.  I have written about the importance of the first Saturn return, which takes place around the ages of 28 to 30. This is the age when people's lives begin to take on a direction to carry them forward for the next few decades. So, here's what the ages 27 to 29 have looked like, from a strictly activity point of view, for my son Chris.

• discovers love of musical theater and connects with different choral groups
• practices Transcendental Meditation (for over a year)
• expands circle of friends, including now a girlfriend
• starts taking piano lessons again after a 15 year hiatus
• talks more seriously about getting a degree

Why am I even bothering to mention these activities, which many people already manage to sandwich into a busy schedule while holding down jobs or pursuing education? Because, if you are, or were, like me, having a son or daughter in an almost total state of withdrawal and dependency lasting longer than we could have imagined, we may begin to believe that our adult child will never become self-advocating and independent. It is very likely that this dream of ours was discouraged at the outset by the people who should instill hope, but don't do a very good job of it - namely the medical profession. To gain real hope, I learned early on from others who had been there, you have to distance yourself from the medical view, which is pessimistic and incomplete.

And, speaking of movies, Side Effects, opens this week-end.
 Steven Soderbergh’s “Side Effects” follows twists and turns involving a fictitious antidepressant (which has its own real Web site).