Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Feng Shui in my Childhood?

The annoying thing about parents is this: when you become one, they turn out to be just like you.

All our parents' familiar admonishments that we used to roll our eyes at -- we're using them, too! "No snacks before dinner." (Awww mom!) "Zipper your jacket!" (But I'm not cold!) "You're not allowed to watch that show until after you've done your homework." (WHAT?!? I never get to do anything anymore! Stomp stomp stomp BAM) I've pretty much come to accept all this.

But now I'm starting to wonder if my parents were so cool that they themselves were into Feng Shui, just like me!

Exhibit A -- the full length mirror on the outside of the bathroom door. This is a well-known method to prevent helpful chi from flowing into the bathroom and down the drains and toilet. But they didn't keep the bathroom door closed when it wasn't in use, so maybe they weren't following it too closely. On the other hand, they kept the toilet lid down.

Exhibit B -- orientation of beds to achieve a Purpose. My bed and the beds of my sister and brother all pointed North, which I believe helps ensure in children a calm sleep, submissiveness and a desire to mow the lawn. Just kidding about that last one.

Exhibit C -- actually there's no Exhibit C. But they say that good writers should list things in groups of threes. And I need all the help I can get.

If my parents actually did follow Feng Shui, they certainly broke the Number One Rule -- eliminate clutter. My mom especially went for second helpings when the Pack Rat Gene was being ladled out.

So were my parents really following Feng Shui, or did they just copy something they saw in a movie?

3 comments:

Unknown said...

That's interesting about the beds facing north. My kids have been cranky and all three of them sleep facing west.

It might be time for a re-org over here.

Square Peg Guy said...

We just rearranged our daughter's room mainly to change the orientation of the bed. It had been positioned so that the feet point toward the door. It was a very bad arrangement because it signifies Death. (When a body is removed from a room, it's usually dragged through the door feet first.)

Good luck with the changes!

Rummuser said...

Square Peg, there is nothing called generation gap. It is only memory gap. We are conditioned to repeat the same things that our parents did.