Missing Sylvie

Missing Sylvie

From: Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock
Length: 00:04:29

How do divorced moms keep their sanity when their children are visiting the other parent? Sometimes not so well... Read the full description.

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Piece Description

My daughter leaves Fairbanks every few months and travels to visit her dad, in Southeast Alaska. When she goes, her brother and I wander aimlessly around the house, feeling a bit lost. As hard as it is for children to be separated from a parent, it's hard on those who are left behind, too.

Broadcast History

April 14, 2005 aired on AK, the Alaska Public Radio statewide news magazine, for the theme show of "Lost."

This piece won "Best Radio Feature story for 2005," at the Alaska Press Club Awards.

Transcript

Music Bed?(Tim Easton) All the pretty girls leave town?all the pretty girls leave town?did you hear about the young one went away and never called?.

Cut: 04 Hi, this is Sylvie, just trying to get ahold of you?

ALMOST EVERY NIGHT, THERE ARE TWO OR THREE MESSAGES LIKE THIS ONE ON OUR ANSWERING MACHINE. EIGHT YEAR OLD SYLVIE IS VISITING HER DAD IN SITKA, AS SHE HAS EVERY FEW MONTHS NOW FOR ALMOST HALF HER LIFE. SHE CALLS OFTEN FROM A CELL PHONE AT HER DAD?S SAWMILL, AND FILLS ME IN ON THE WEATHER, THE HERRING FISHERY, OR JUST WHATEVER SPRINGS TO MIND.
Phone cut 1 :28 oh yeah, it?s really sunny and hot. ?oh, are you wearing shorts?? no, it?s not that sunny?but you could wear your flip flops out here pretty much?etc. etc?

HER BROTHER AND I, TRY TO MAKE SENSE OF HER ABSENCE, BUT FOR ALL THE TIMES SHE?S BEEN GONE, WE STILL HAVEN?T REALLY LEARNED WHAT TO DO WITH OURSELVES WITHOUT H...
Read the full transcript

Timing and Cues

Host Intro:
Many children these days grow up bouncing back and forth between parents, and it certainly isn?t anything new in our society for parents and kids to learn to juggle these kinds of relationships. When her daughter leaves their home in Fairbanks to visit her dad in another town, Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock has learned that feeling lost can be as simple as being the one who stays home: