Back to Life- Back to Reality

An oldie, but exceptionally good song. I have always wondered about that phrase.

When I was leaving Cuba, with the rest of the Canadians on that charter, (which is completely worthy of another blog on its own), I heard a woman saying those words to her friends. It reminded me of arriving in Canada after living in Indonesia for the past 20 years and having my stepmother say that to me- how I "had to get back to reality" now.

What serioulsy puzzled me was- if this is reality what were the last 20 years about? A fake life? It was life in Canada that seemed like the big tv show. Houses all neatly in rows, polite drivers, extremely well lit stores, and excellent customer service- without people asking for additional money after quoting me on something. It was weird!

McDonalds was not a luxury but affordable. All my electronical equipment worked, and no power outages. Smiling policemen, white people working well into their 50s and 60s..... I kept waking up and forgetting where I was. If it was storming outside I did not have to be afraid that water was going to drip onto my floor, perhaps hitting an electrical wire or causing a wipeout on an extremely slippery, ceramic tile. My roof stayed on through the wildest windstorms, and the doctor was free! Yes, as much as it was fantastically efficient, it didnt seem real for a very long time.

What was harder for me to understand was how employers would not let you leave if your child was ill, or needed to be picked up from daycare as it was past their closing hours. I also never quite got over the fact that family didnt have time for family- especially children. Being asked to babysit wasnt a privilege it was a burden. Golf, hockey games and soap operas were a priority over a visit, and it became so much easier to plop a frozen dinner into the oven and watch it over tv then to cook together and gather at a table.

I will admit, that what was hard for me to understand is now not. Our new life style has become the norm for now. I wonder for how long, and a little bit hesitantly and fearfully if this is now my new reality.

Up Up and Away

OMG. I am so excited. I have randomly chosen to go to Cuba. After nights of dreaming about white beaches and warm waters, I realized that it was time to go somewhere that would replenish and heal.
After the robbery, I felt so totally depleted and out of control, I needed to do something out of the ordinary and totally different. That meant not going to Bali, not going with people I know, and not going anyplace familiar.
So off I go. Excited and optimistic. Looking forward to new experiences and new memories.