Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Up and down, up and down

Moving to Paraguay with 3 kids under the age of 10 is either the pinnacle of my awesomeness, or the depths of my idiocy.  Honestly, I think it's probably going to end up a tally in the awesome column, but at varying (you know, about 20 times a day) moments, it definitely feels like it belongs in the idiocy field.  I love my life.  I love my family, friends, church, homeschool co-op, town, state, car, house, stuff.  I love it all, and I am just going. 
When I went to school to study Anthropology I had visions of Indiana Jones-esque adventures in Amazonian jungles and German castles.  Then, I actually studied Anthropology and did field work and I realized that mostly I would be doing paperwork.  That's ok, though, because I love people and Anthropology is, at the heart, the study of people.  This opportunity to work and live in Paraguay was something I could never have imagined.  It's amazing, a blessing wilder than I ever thought to dream of. 
So, I am happy, ecstatic, to be going.  Somehow, though, in my imaginings I can't picture the day to day with kiddos.  What will it be like; I remember being in Mexico and seeing how differently children were treated.  I feel fairly certain that parenting in Paraguay will be different than in North Carolina.  If nothing else, I am enormously aware that we will be the 'they' in this we/they dichotomy, the outsiders, the (sort of) representatives of our country....that's a lot of responsibility rattling around in my parenting mind.
So, that's why my mood, my thoughts, my preparedness, and my energy are on what seems to be an eternal roller coaster.  Up and down, round and round, and where it stops...who knows.  One thing is for sure, ready or not, this time next week we will be in South America; our new home.

1 comment:

  1. Hey Catherine,
    You commented on my blog yesterday. The answer is yes, I am still in Paraguay (my laptop crashed a while back, so I haven't been able to do posts recently!). I'd be happy ot be a contact in Paraguay, and answer any last minute questions you have, or put some nerves to rest. I love living here in Paraguay, and meeting new friends! Feel free to email me whenever!
    Kathryn

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