Mourning the loss of "home", and other musings
With all the craziness of moving things into storage, getting into a car accident, living in a hotel for a week while trying to get everything I thought I needed for India, I didn't realize a few important things. At the top of the list is that I don't have a home any longer. You know when you are on vacation and sleeping in beds that just aren't quite right, eating food that you didn't make and having a grand time? And by the end of that vacation, you are happy to be going "home"? I don't have one of those any longer. My parents' home and Austin's parents' home will be great alternatives, and I will be so happy to be able to go to either one of their homes, but our family does not have a "home". Closest thing to it will be the Hyatt House in Schaumburg, IL. But even then, it doesn't have an oven to bake chocolate chip cookies in. It doesn't have a separate room for Landon to sleep in so we don't have to tiptoe around with most of the lights off during the 12 hours he is sleeping. Also, all of our stuff is in a storage unit; we are permanently living out of suitcases. All of this didn't occur to me until earlier this week as we were settling in here in India. I want to change out some things in my wardrobe, and I hope I can get to the right boxes at the storage unit to be able to do that!
It certainly is an interesting lifestyle, not one that I would have picked for myself or wish on anyone else. However, due to our circumstances, the financial gains and amazing life experiences to be made outweigh any inconvenience this may cause us. There is also another extended stay with an actual separate bedroom that I think we will try out when we get back to Chicago, whenever that is. Austin says that MAYBE we might be going straight to South Korea. But we don't have any idea until we are actually booked and ready to go.
There are some definite perks to being here in India. Pretty much everything I ever complained about in Chicago has been turned on its head. In Chicago during winter, we were stuck inside our small town home all day, and didn't spend any time outside. Now, it is HOT outside. There are never any clouds and there is an occasional breeze that cools us off. Landon has tons of room to roam around and explore. He digs in the dirt and rocks, says hello everyday to the fish and geese that live in the hotel, and there is a full size basketball court across the street, and a park that he knows how to get to about 5 minutes away. Green grass, beautiful multicolored flowers and gorgeous birds are everywhere. It is a magical place to be, albeit way too hot to be outside sometimes. AND, the best/worst part is that Austin is sleeping during the day, so we try to be outside/out of the room as much as possible. Also, I don't have any of the normal household tasks to do. I have to put away laundry, and clean Landon's sippy cups. I tidy up sometimes to keep our space liveable, and I am constantly cleaning up little Landon messes, but the big things, like laundry, cooking, cleaning, are all taken care of. So I really have nothing better to do than wander around outside and make sure Landon doesn't choke on a rock or run in the street. As of right now, I would probably take back all of the household responsibilities in exchange for my own oven, but that's just me.
It is almost too hot to work out. I run some days, do body weight exercises other days, but I see why people here do yoga. It is too hot to do any real intense cardio.
Everyone looks at my stroller like it is from outer space. The moms here just carry their kids (their kids are also MUCH smaller than Landon, and much skinnier). If they are going a long distance, they all hop on a scooter, but still holding their kids. My back would break if I had to do that. Landon might decide to launch himself off of the scooter as it is moving as well. I think this is a random enough post, and will leave it at that.
It certainly is an interesting lifestyle, not one that I would have picked for myself or wish on anyone else. However, due to our circumstances, the financial gains and amazing life experiences to be made outweigh any inconvenience this may cause us. There is also another extended stay with an actual separate bedroom that I think we will try out when we get back to Chicago, whenever that is. Austin says that MAYBE we might be going straight to South Korea. But we don't have any idea until we are actually booked and ready to go.
There are some definite perks to being here in India. Pretty much everything I ever complained about in Chicago has been turned on its head. In Chicago during winter, we were stuck inside our small town home all day, and didn't spend any time outside. Now, it is HOT outside. There are never any clouds and there is an occasional breeze that cools us off. Landon has tons of room to roam around and explore. He digs in the dirt and rocks, says hello everyday to the fish and geese that live in the hotel, and there is a full size basketball court across the street, and a park that he knows how to get to about 5 minutes away. Green grass, beautiful multicolored flowers and gorgeous birds are everywhere. It is a magical place to be, albeit way too hot to be outside sometimes. AND, the best/worst part is that Austin is sleeping during the day, so we try to be outside/out of the room as much as possible. Also, I don't have any of the normal household tasks to do. I have to put away laundry, and clean Landon's sippy cups. I tidy up sometimes to keep our space liveable, and I am constantly cleaning up little Landon messes, but the big things, like laundry, cooking, cleaning, are all taken care of. So I really have nothing better to do than wander around outside and make sure Landon doesn't choke on a rock or run in the street. As of right now, I would probably take back all of the household responsibilities in exchange for my own oven, but that's just me.
It is almost too hot to work out. I run some days, do body weight exercises other days, but I see why people here do yoga. It is too hot to do any real intense cardio.
Everyone looks at my stroller like it is from outer space. The moms here just carry their kids (their kids are also MUCH smaller than Landon, and much skinnier). If they are going a long distance, they all hop on a scooter, but still holding their kids. My back would break if I had to do that. Landon might decide to launch himself off of the scooter as it is moving as well. I think this is a random enough post, and will leave it at that.
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| A pretty flower. I wanted to add more pictures, but it took 20 minutes for this one to load, so that is all for this post. |
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