Kid Poor

Children are costly - especially, if one follows the many advice columns on parenting including things like early sensory stimulation from infant massage and swimming lessons to children’s yoga and early musical education followed by chess clubs, educational computer games and quality childcare - preferably bilingual.  

The fear of falling behind by failing to provide ones offspring every chance to realize their often cited “potential” can become a real terror.  Playground conversations can turn acidic when choices and preferences come under scrutiny.  Bitterness can be the lasting aftertaste following a play date at the house of a more affluent family.  

Even hands-off childhood approaches such as the ones based on the Steiner curriculum, come with a hefty price tag.  Playing in the mud, walking hand in hand and singing in harmony is anything else but a free-for-all!

Consequently, parents habitually rush out of the house in a scrambling haste every morning, grabbing lunch boxes, lab tops and little ones on their way.  If one of them decided to resist the insanity, it usually means that the other, whether mom or dad, is mercilessly thrown into the claws of a demanding around-the clock carrier across the seven skies.

Come to think of it, this scenario resembles crisis much more than care!  

This you should know...

When moving to the UK, it is important to realise that one moves onto a shoal, an island, set apart from the rest.  Island nations are singular, tossed into the sea.  They are at the same time fiercely independent and completely lost, their populace amazing survival artists as well as gloomy fatalists.  

In England this deeply engrained dichotomy takes shape in many different forms.  For the less cognizant, it may take a while to pinpoint, but after some time it is hard to miss.  It took me six years, but here it is:

Everyone here has their assigned place - for generations.  Names matter, accents and connections, more than either intelligence or integrity.  There is a way to do things, and many ways not to.

The pecking order is harsh and unforgiving.  While bound together against all that lies across the sea, it is a national pass time to hack at each other like chicken in a coop.

A harsh wind blows over this island.  Many who leave it don’t like to return and those who come, charmed by its beauties, sooner or later will find out why.

The proverbial stiff upper lip is a feature engraved into the pale features of a true islander, as if they had to prove a point.  Life is life and that seems to be the problem.

Each and Every One

Human beings are like galaxies.  Mostly it's unclear what's happening on the inside, especially to those on the outside.  Each and every one is spinning around themselves oblivious of any dark matter at their centre.  With the limited understanding we have of ourselves and each other, we all are somewhat lost in space.

Apologies

Apologies to the clouds 

for not following their way.

Apologies to the leaves 

for not cushioning their fall.

Apologies to the oceans

for not listening to their tale.

Apologies to you, my love,

for all that I am not.  

Nein !

There are bounderies that I set at times where I may find myself alone on the other side - but that has never bothered me.  

In fact, I don’t believe that majorities are right.  Nevertheless I usually respect majority decisions, even if I don’t necessarily let them dictate my life.  

When George W. Bush decided to terrorise the good Americans and send their children into battle unter false pretense, I gathered our belongings and moved our family to Costa Rica. When George W. was re-elected, we decided to stay away and later on moved everyone to Europe, where life seemed less volatile.  

For a few years we came to enjoy the benefits of a state health care system and a generous yearly leave as well as affordable child care.

Life seemed more secure and with the abundance of cultural events and endless trails and sprawling natural beauty for everyone to enjoy, life quality also got a considerable boost.  For a while, the hair raising deals of Wahington lobbyists seemed a thing of the past.  The NRA, Halliburton & Co., Texaco et al., they all  seemed to recede into the background.  

In the meantime, England was getting rid of its airplane carrier and, in the wake of the financial crisis, it went after banker bonuses.  All seemed good.  

But of course, no honeymoon lasts forever...and now, once again, I find myself googling after everyone else has gone to bed.  

Once again, I am looking for an escape route.  But in this gung-ho winner-takes-all euphoria of our post-industrial age, is there really anywhere to go?