Parents and Family Weekend

When our three children were in college, Family Weekend was one of my favorite events. I loved meeting their professors and advisors and enjoyed getting to know their new friends.  Although it was not always easy to “let go” as our sons and daughter ventured off to the world of higher education, I was grateful to know they had discovered family in new ways and with new people. It was hard to hear them say “I’m looking forward to going home,” after a break, meaning they were going back to their new home at their respective universities, I was also relieved to discover they felt a deep sense of belonging. Their world had expanded to include a new community and new relationships. The friends my children came to know and love as young adults have truly become their sisters and brothers.

I have the privilege of watching these kinds of families develop at Lynchburg College every day. I am most aware of the bonds that happen with the Bonner Leaders since I work so closely with them. However, I see it happen in a variety of clubs and organizations, on athletic teams and in residence halls. Living up close and personal, perhaps even sharing the same room with another person for the first time, provides life-long lessons in communication, conflict resolution, and compromise. Such outside of the classroom experiences can be truly transforming, as strangers become friends and bonds can become as deep as those we experienced growing up in our own homes.

For those of us fortunate enough to be blessed with strong families at home as well as at school, we have a special obligation to look out for those who have not been so lucky. We have all known individuals who have been wounded by the very people they were supposed to trust while growing up. There are those among us who feel marginalized and left out here on campus for a variety of reasons. By virtue of our common humanity, these men and women are also our sisters and brothers, in need of and deserving connection and relationship. In the words of Jane Howard, “Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.” We all need to feel like we belong.

As we observe another Parents and Family Weekend at Lynchburg College, let us take to heart the new sculpture on campus and practice LCVE – LC LOVE. The sense of family and community that many of us cherish and treasure is meant to be shared beyond our own circle. Find someone with no guests this weekend and include them in one of your own family meals or gatherings. Notice the student who seems to eat alone every meal and invite them to join your group in the dining hall.  Practice bystander intervention by noticing when someone may be in trouble and act on their behalf.  Make an effort to learn the names of some of the people who cook your meals, clean your hall, take care of the dell, and any of countless other tasks that help enhance your life at Lynchburg College. Speak to them by name and thank them for helping to provide you a home away from home and a family to call your own here.

As Sister Sledge might sing: “We are family . . . I got all my sisters with me. We are family . . . Get up ev’rybody and sing. We are family . . . I got all my brothers with me. We are family.”

Peace, Anne