Escaping society’s pressures as a woman was once possible: Arranged weddings, childbearing, harsh judgement or even poverty. If you couldn’t fit in the life outside you always had a place in the convent.

Framework or cage, it is no surprise so many of us like to conform. Responsibility is reduced and you have a false sense of freedom. It is a safe place where you think you belong because you do what is demanded. You know and understand the patterned and templates, you are good at drawing within the lines and use the appropriate color scheme. You are a good son or daughter, a good student and a successful business person and eventually a fair and secure parent. Sometime the lines are a bit blurry but you remember what was asked the last time and offer it as it is expected. You obey the rules and you are recognized whether it is in or outside the law…You have your gang and your friends looking in the same direction.

All goes well until you are questioned by your children. The only ones that can see for a brief but rich moment where you are missing out.

If you obey by the rules you will dismiss their critics and comments and if you are an outsider well… then they will probably do much better than you did in fitting in. You can only admire how well your offspring are smart enough to understand rules you could never really figure out… The better they perform, the less they can be blamed or attacked. It is a security deposit.

Society is a convent where your prayers are often listen to and sometimes realized.

I do not know where my children will go, I can only guess and hope for them that the convent will be sufficient. However a small part of me whish for them to pray another way and to discover life beyond the wall.