from the franks: November 2010

Thursday morning I helped Graham and the kids get on the train at the bustling Old Delhi station. They were headed home without me. I kissed him and snuck away without making a scene, fully realizing that this was the first time that I have been away since starting our family 5 years ago. I lightheartedly walked off the train feeling free with just my pack on my back and plane ticket in hand. Like most mothers, my life is full of attending to incessant requests, demands, tears, diapers, messes, emotions, details and needs. As I rode in the taxi to the airport, I noticed that I could actually look out the window and observe, think about and process India without having to answer a question, make a plan, get someone a drink of water, or hold a squirming baby on my lap.

A friend invited me to attend a conference at a resort in Goa(a southern state on the coast of India). It was designed for North American women working in India and other surrounding countries. The focus was on bringing rest, refreshment and support. I did benefit from laughing and networking with other women who share the same experiences and challenges, but what I most enjoyed was the solitude.

I did a lot of beach running, swimming in the ocean, eating, journaling, and gaining perspective after 9 months of very intense cultural adjustment and transition. I fell more deeply in love with Graham and the kids as I was away, but also realized that in whatever shape or form, rest and solitude is essential.

Graham did an impressive job with the kids while I was away. For the first 2 hours after I returned to Mussoorie, Everett was upset with me and would not let me hold him and kept trying to hit me. He must have been confused and wondering why I had abandoned him. I had intended on bringing the kids some of the chocolates from the conference, but instead decided to eat them up myself before arriving back. I figured while on vacation it is okay to be a little selfish. I did bring them some sea shells that I had carefully hunted for one morning and for them they were just as good as chocolate.