Last summer I wrote about
Roots and Wings while visiting family after Aiden's birth during our summer in Canada. How do you grow roots for a nomadic family?
Last week we began a unit of study on Canada. I was surprized to encounter some resistance: "Why do we have to study about Canada? I know about Canada - I know about maples and beavers. "!! I surprized myself with being quite shocked and riled by this disinterest. And it brought me back to...
This summer I also got to spend 2 short weeks with family in Canada - and the topic of roots and wings was again highlighted for me to chew on... how
do you grow roots for a nomadic family away from extended family?
Despite the
raggedness of the trip home, some new ideas began to percolate out from various conversations and observations.
A brother deeply drawn to give his family roots, looking for the right location to dig in, expressing the crunch of time as his kids grow older - soon too late, seemed to be his reasoning.
The very fact that we were all together - a fledgling reunion tradition solidifying out of the realization we'd actually been together 2 summers ago and 2 years before that too.
Long, unexpected conversations with my mom - I learned more family history than I ever knew before, I think!
One conclusion I've come to is that location isn't as necessary as we think.
Of course, the whole language imagery of roots precludes that place is part and parcel of the whole deal. And the ideal still is living in community in one place. Precious, and, like many, many ideals, very hard to find!
But
What if place and roots became synonymous when that ideal used to be the norm?
What if having roots really means constant community with the same people: family, friends? This
is doable on the move, unconnected to any one place. Harder. Much harder: unknown, unsupported, not understood... but doable.
What, then, is community that gives roots? Could it be...
Shared history - experienced together and told to one another after the fact.
Shared spaces - (yes, place does come in, but not centrally) visiting one another regularly, knowing about places and life there
Shared identity - family, faith, heritage
Shared traditions - that tell the history, the identity, and the spaces
Shared goals - within faith, work, family
still working this out - who isn't?!
Last weekend we joined the brave AWANA families on an overnight trip. The bravest families actually tent camped but the rest of us took hotel rooms. Since it poured rain in the night only two out of the seven camping families actually made it through the night in their tents...
On the way, we split up in different people's cars. Jasmin, Aiden and Mommy left in the morning with one of the leaders. We met up with the another carload at their house. Since they weren't quite ready, we went in... and Aiden thoroughly enjoyed their kid's easel. He was so animated and serious about his work it was fun to watch!
Sunday morning we had a church service of sorts. We all sang the AWANA songs as well as a few others. And then the families each took a turn of reading out a Bible passage/verse on families/parenting and saying a little something about it. Rather interesting as not all parents were Christian!
Grace was really looking forward to the promised hike. Because of the night of rain, it was a much shorter hike than originally planned so she steamed there and back and wanted more! Jasmin had chosen the swimming option, but didn't stay in very long as it was cold - like swimming in the Atlantic ocean in June! 
Where there were all sorts of fair games and food with a movie when it got dark. Mom and Dad hardly saw the girls from beginning to end! While they were off getting all painted up, playing games, and finding friends,
October was a crazy busy month! Dad was gone every other week to various meetings, visiting Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. And in between he was more often than not out of commission in exhaustion recovery and/or sick... with the cold that we just could not get rid of, passing it 'round and 'round. Hopefully we are truly clear of it now though.
Or Jasmin sliding super fast down a playground pole, complaining off and on all week about her foot hurting, and so getting the adventure of foot x-rays (noting fractured, just bruised and sprained). She got to keep the film and is pretty proud of it :)
