After two months after leaving the States and moving to Israel, my dear friends Efrat and Sarai came to visit us in Kiryat Shemona. Efrat leans down to then-three-and-a-half-year-old Dahnya and asks, "How do you like your new home?" No answer.
"Dahnya, can you understand the abstract concept of the word 'home'?" Silence. Dahnya looks deep in thought. She then looks up into Efrat's shining face, "No".
"Oh, oh, I'm Coming Hoooome. Home is Wherever I'm With You." And so, we seek a new home, a new resting ground to lay our heads down in, and feel like we (even for the moment) belong there. I guess that is how the true nomads feel, always resettling down in the next "home", but always knowing that "home" is just where they are, together, with each. And so it is with us, home is where we are, together. Here's a couple of videos that show that process for us...
Looking for an Indigenous Village to Live in, Ecuador
So it's that time again... to settle down and figure out what we're gonna do when we grow up, I mean, now that we're in the next crossroads. We want to volunteer and live among the indigenous- we haven't done that yet. So here, off the shores of Misahualli, Ecuador; we're going to explore a Quichway village which potentially will be our next home for the next month(s).
Asking The Kids Where They Want to Live
As we continue in our search for the next home, we think it is best to include the kids in our major decisions. Of course, we the parents decide, and often, we just let them know what we have decided. But, when we can (and when we remember to) we like to include them in the decision-making process.
In the nomadic family world which is constantly changing and constantly demanding of our children to readjust, we have found that when they voice their opinions and feel ownership of our decisions, they adjust better, they flow and feel amiable towards those decisions. We have found that on the road, we are doing more Family Meetings then we did back home. Though this tidbit is not a family meeting, it holds the same spirit, one that accounts for, considers, and respects my children´s right to an opinion.
Here, a short video with Solai regarding what we are about to do and what she feels about it.
And the song that inspired this entry... home is wherever I'm with you...
2 Comments:
An interesting concept - I think children are very much overlooked in our culture here. I really liked the image that home is where you "all" are - i.e. it is not even neccesarily a particular structure. I moved a lot as a child - and never once remember being talked to about it. We knew we were going to move - and that was it. I lost many friends (and true loves hehehe) in the process. Dialogue and effective communication is priceless - you are teaching many lessons without even knowing it!!
Happy, safe travels :-)
Love Wendy xox
dearest wendy, you are so right. i also believe that we overlook our children, and that including them, in honest dialogue, in decision-making processes creates partners. we let them know a lot of things, we notify of many realities that they must accept, and when we can, we discuss with them. it feels so right. dialogue and effective communication is priceless- i could not agree more. Everybody's Gonna Love Today, gabi
Post a Comment
Thank you for joining us! Speak your beautiful mind here: