What Happens in Childhood, Stays in Adulthood

Tom and I recently watched a series of documentary films called The Up Series.  In 1964, fourteen seven-year-old British children, ranging from rich to poor, were selected for this series.  As young school children, they were asked questions that had to do with their opinions about life in general, their dreams, ambitions, and how they thought their lives would turn out. Every seven years the film crew returns to see where they are now.

"Give me a child until they are seven, and I will give you the man," is a Jesuit motto that director Michael Apted has repeated in every one of the seven films we've seen so far.  The eighth film called 56 Up is due to air soon.

There has been a lot of controversy about the series. Some believe the producers and director of The Up Series were using these people for monetary gain without considering the consequences of exposing them to public scrutiny and critique.  Regardless of their motives, I find the series fascinating.  It doesn't explain the whys, but it does give credibility to the Jesuit motto:  "What happens in childhood, stays in adulthood."  But I want to know and understand the "whys."

Why do we do what we do?  Why are some of us (like Tom, for example) so fundamentally stable, and why are others (like me) missing a few pebbles from their cornerstone?   After six decades,  I'm leaning a little to the right, but I look fine from the street, and my curb appeal, for my age, is acceptable, but it's those dang missing pieces that sometimes make my foundation shake, rattle and roll, and that can be worrisome, especially to a friend of mine, who thinks I should mix a little cement with Prosac and stuff it in the cracks.

It's not my fault, I tell you!  I wasn't the contractor of me.  Someone else built me. But they're not to blame, either.  Contractors are not perfect; they are human and to be human is to err.  Just ask any contractor, and they will tell you they do the best they can with the tools they have.  So. Missing a few pebbles?  No big deal!  Just add a little Prosac to the cement and stuff it in the cracks.

I'm only missing a couple of pebbles.  Not that many, really.  It's not that bad.  No, really it isn't.  From a distance, I look perfectly fine.