Fortune
December 15th 2005 - December 17th 2005
So, today my family and I left the Bay Area, California to embark on a one year long adventure in India. It felt a little strange to be travelling in the comfort and extravagance of business class to a country where so many of the people live in abject poverty. But that didn't stop me from leaning back on fluffy pillows, enjoying crabcakes, and sipping cocktails. Travelling with two small children, a 3.5 year old and a 10.5 month old mitigated some of the enjoyment but by no means was I roughing it.
My 3.5 year old, Sandrine, passed the time watching animated movies over and over again. Thank goodness for on-flight entertainment and the small child's comfort in repetition! Several of the flight attendants took a liking to my 10.5 month old, Nikhitita and one in particular spent time talking to me. It was evident that she liked children and seeing no ring I assumed that she was a happy go lucky single girl in her mid to late twenties enjoying the nomadic lifestyle of a flight attendant. As she cooed and caaed with Nikhitita her facade came down and revealed a married woman who had suffered one miscarriage and who yearned for a child of her own. Suddenly I felt blessed instead of annoyed to have two healthy children talking through "Wedding Crashers" and interrupting my 3 course meal.
The trip was a gentle reminder that fortune comes in many forms. There is richness that comes through material wealth and there is the richness of love that you can only find in family. I would take the latter over the former any day.
So, today my family and I left the Bay Area, California to embark on a one year long adventure in India. It felt a little strange to be travelling in the comfort and extravagance of business class to a country where so many of the people live in abject poverty. But that didn't stop me from leaning back on fluffy pillows, enjoying crabcakes, and sipping cocktails. Travelling with two small children, a 3.5 year old and a 10.5 month old mitigated some of the enjoyment but by no means was I roughing it.
My 3.5 year old, Sandrine, passed the time watching animated movies over and over again. Thank goodness for on-flight entertainment and the small child's comfort in repetition! Several of the flight attendants took a liking to my 10.5 month old, Nikhitita and one in particular spent time talking to me. It was evident that she liked children and seeing no ring I assumed that she was a happy go lucky single girl in her mid to late twenties enjoying the nomadic lifestyle of a flight attendant. As she cooed and caaed with Nikhitita her facade came down and revealed a married woman who had suffered one miscarriage and who yearned for a child of her own. Suddenly I felt blessed instead of annoyed to have two healthy children talking through "Wedding Crashers" and interrupting my 3 course meal.
The trip was a gentle reminder that fortune comes in many forms. There is richness that comes through material wealth and there is the richness of love that you can only find in family. I would take the latter over the former any day.
posted by Danakka @ 1:07 AM
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