My wife has to go to South America next month for 11 days for work. She asked me if I had any desire at all to accompany her to Brazil (and Uruguay). After all my sister and her family just moved to Brazil so perhaps I could visit them.
But it wasn't a serious question in the sense that I don't know what we'd do with the kids. I couldn't imagine taking them; we don't really have good/cheap family *help* that we could tap; etc.
Regardless of the children I told her that I had ZERO desire to go to South America....and she was shocked.
In fact, I have had ZERO desire to go anywhere exotic really for quite some time now.
Sure I enjoy Florida in the winter, but that is more of a negative trip - an effort to get away from the painful Northeastern winter.
If you pressed me, I'd tell you there are only a couple of places I presently have the urge to go to.
One, I'd like to visit the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.
And two, I'd like to fly to California and drive all over the state - sightsee from top to bottom.
(I'd also like to hike Mt. Katahdin in Maine, something I hope to pull off this year since we have two weddings up there to attend.)
The other week my wife spent working in London and Geneva with those *global banking criminals*. I was surprised when she came back beaming about London. She said it was *hip* and *hopping* and that we should definitely think about her doing a 2-year stint there.
Say what?
NO FREAKIN' WAY!
For crying out loud, I told her, we live in New York - it's hip and hopping aplenty here.
There's no sunlight in London, take note you SAD sufferers.
I don't even have an urge to VISIT London, no less make it my 7th home in the past 10 years!
Sure I sound like a closed-minded, provincial here - someone not fit for educating young minds, but whatever.
I'm well aware that my life and family priorities will evolve over time. Heck if you told me 1.5 years ago that I would be moving to stinkin' Long Island - a place I've long detested - I'd have advised you to get your head examined.
Perhaps one of these years I'll tag along with my first wife to South America with the kids.
And perhaps one day I'll see a tremendous opportunity in moving overseas or something.
Realize it's only because we homeschool that these options will be available to us.
2 comments:
Here in Ukraine your brother is not shocked that you didn't want to travel (otherwise you'd have a valid international passport). With 50% of your siblings living overseas and your other sibling using the services of Spanish-speaking nanny to help her children learn another language, your views are retrograde even in our fairly conservative family. Maybe your views will change. But outside of a narrow-minded niche market, how many homeschooling parents will want to pay for the advice of an openly obscurantist troglodyte? ;-)
Hah!
You've misused the word *obscurantist*, you inkhorn.
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