I have a LOT of Thanksgiving weekend photos. It was a great weekend. It was filled with food, family, fun, some hard work, some sickness, some rough moments, and some quiet times of cuddles and kissing boo-boos.
First, though, I want to say I have been giving a lot of thought to the holidays. Raising kids overseas is full of so many amazing opportunities and experiences. I love that my kids are growing up with a world perspective and I love knowing they are building attitudes and skills that will carry them far in life. I would choose this life for them above most (all?) others.
That said, there are some disadvantages to being overseas. There are the obvious things like being away from family, lack of "typical" American kid opportunities, and a few other things that we miss from time to time. Holidays, especially big ones like Thanksgiving and Christmas, are hard. I love that we can escape the materialism overload but I am sad that the other beautiful things about this time of year are missed.
- Football games in the fall
- Trick or treating in fun costumes
- Changing leaves
- Christmas music in every public venue
- Gorgeous church services
- Driving around looking at lights
- Nice meals with family
- Christmas carolling
- Snuggling up in warm sweaters
- Hot cocoa in front of a warm fire
- Family traditions
- Christmas Morning with cousins and grandparents
- Etc...
We miss out on a lot, I admit. However, we also gain amazing opportunities during this time. In fact, my thoughts about all of this have stemmed from the fact that we get so many great (although not typical) opportunities around the holidays. Beach trips for the weekend? Sure. Fly to another country for a day or two? Easy. Pot luck meals with lots of other family-less families? Done.
So how do we choose? How do we know what to say yes to and what to turn down?
As our kids get older, these decisions get harder. I want each of my kids to embrace their life as a TCK (Third Culture Kid), but I also want them to understand and appreciate their passport country of America. I want them to be ready to reintegrate into that culture, whenever the time comes (perhaps college?) When someone talks to them about their Thanksgivings or Christmas's growing up, what do I want my kids to picture? What traditions do I want them to recall fondly? What do I want them to be able to say they did every year? What foods do I want them to think of when they are asked their favorite holiday meals?
I don't have all the answers, but Jason and I are starting to form some ideas of how we want to instill traditions that they can carry with them throughout their lives as well as help them intertwine the unique experiences that growing up overseas can offer them. A delicate mix of their American heritage (a heritage that they may want to embrace fully as adults) and an embracing of the amazing childhood in a third world country (that includes other families and kids in the same situation!) A little this way, a little that way. A balancing act.
Really, we get the best of both worlds. We just need to figure out how to make it all work.
Stay tuned for photos of our weekend (and one of our first real attempts at this balancing act.)
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