Anchors

Anchors are good things. They keep us from drifting. Dropping anchor insures that the boat you are in is going to be staying put in water that encourages movement.

Families are like anchors as well. They keep us grounded in a world that shifts. We can get lost in a crowd, losing our very sense of self. A family, like an anchor keeps us tied to understanding where we come from and is the keeper of our very identity. “I am a Cook”, is a very pregnant statement.

I had a student who in class said that one of the reasons she took the class was to see if we were related, as we both had the same last name. She was African American. I obviously am not. I asked her if she had gotten her answer. She said she had. We all laughed. A simple glance spoke truth.

Anchors have also killed people. I think of the old mob technique of killing called “cement shoes”. The goal of the shoes is to hold a person underwater, until they drown. If we are honest, I think families can be like that as well. The neediness of a family can constrain a person to feel like they are drowning.

If you have ever gotten an anchor stuck, no one goes anywhere until the anchor is freed. And sometimes, anchors get so stuck, you have to cut it free if you are ever hoping to move.