Re <<unintended consequence of Covid... will be seen in result of an entire generation of young kids who have spent the last two years interacting with... adults in the home... and not other kids...>>
I believe we did right by our kids
I shall forever treasure our 2020 from start to finish, 6 months in S Africa, 1 month in Vancouver, and remainder in lock-down city HK
the year started w/ HK in semi-social isolation, where no one went anywhere and did anything brave per SARS 2003 protocol, and so we went and did, even as we hoarded
Jack was 9-10 and Coconut 15-16
when littler, I have always played a game with the kids whenever travelling, to make believe that we are stuck in a place forever, and must do next day what we must do, knowing near nothing about wherever
2020 allowed us to play for real
we went as far as talking to immigration lawyer by zoom as we did not know how long we would be in Cape Town, and we certainly had no valid visa to remain in situ
when it came time to de-camp, we were very sad
we had picked out the house to rent / buy had we pulled trigger to give up the ghost of ever returning home
my in-laws were in Malaysia, stuck, and my mom in HK waiting
whoa ... what a year!
then daughter went and we tagged, to of all places, Cape Town, to perform for charity, and in a town of a nation we are not familiar with and knew none nearby
coincidentally I brought along some necessities that turned from excess baggage into must-have perspective
the kids missed their friends and did zoom school in HK time zone
HK starts in middle of night Cape Town
mom did cooking for there was no work allowed in S Africa by decree
ballet teacher lived with us, together with her two cats, and so coconut did not break ballet discipline
we made friends, with neighbours, through the charity and the dance school coconut worked with, and with the local Chinese community
coconut did good studying
jack learned geography of different continent
siblings got on well
the ballet teacher, mom and I took turns cooking - this below was my work
loved afternoons, especially between HK close and NYC open
chocolate donuts!!! weekly treat, but no one knew for how many more weeks, as the weeks ticked by and airport remain closed and road out to J'berg simply too dangerous
we did not care
then the economy gradually opened up and we feared that soon time to leave new friends and different way of life
we packed, like refugees, and arrived at sports stadium for evacuation
after chilling in Vancouver for a month we arrived in lockdown HK
Coconut did good work in Cape Town township, gathering funding from Asia and dispensing food and SIM cards in township to the desperately needy
the coconut saw life on the other side of the bubble up close and
Message 33254001 mentor passed away midway through covidd lockdown:0( |
