Sunday, December 31, 2006

Return to tradition

Soon, very soon indeed, our family will be welcoming a third generation into our home. Really, the second and third generations are already here - we'll be welcoming the first generation to join us. Eugene's parents will be moving in with us as soon as we can get them here. Their paperwork was approved, and it's just a matter or getting everything in order on our side.

This is the way it should be, and the way it used to be ages ago in this country, but still is in other places. There are practical reasons for it - more hands on the farm means greater productivity (not that we live on a farm though...); the older generations can pass down valuable knowledge to the younger generations - how to nurse a baby, how to make sarmale (cabbage rolls, for all you non-Romanian speakers out there)... and there are relational reasons. How enriching it will be for the kids to live with their parents and their grandparents! In the US today, most kids don't even grow up living with both of their biological parents. How blessed ours will be that they'll be under the same roof with their parents and grandparents!

Not only that, but I'll be able to get my 'mompreneur' groove on. It's perfect - income opportunity, but flexible enough that I can still be the Cozonac taxi service (and rock Sofia at naptime, and be around for Liam's first word, all that fun stuff!). And yet, my mother-in-law can be responsible for the kids most of the day - they'll actually have to speak Romanian, instead of just co-existing with it. And this will be great for my in-laws - everyone knows that being around kids keeps you young. They'll have such fun getting to know the kids. This is really the perfect thing for us.

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