2009 - All good things must come to an end, and as Spring had well and truly sprung in Sapporo, T-chan and L-kun prepared to return to Adelaide (to be accompanied by T-chan's best friend, T2-chan who has come out to Adelaide a few times now). Still it's always very difficult for T-chan to say goodbye. And this time, there was no soft serve ice-cream to distract L-kun.
I wonder at L-kun's future sometimes... at the age of two he was already on his second long international trip. Travelling certainly provides a broadening to the mind, and a deepening of the heart that is difficult to replicate in any other way. However, it comes at a price: there's the hardship of travel (which at this age is more about the parents than the child); the cost (ditto); the disruption to normality and schedules; the disruption to language development; and of course the separation from Daddy (ok... Daddy most probably suffers more than L-kun). It's also a hard life emotionally, as one is forever saying good-byes... which at 2 years old most probably means goodbye for the next 10 minutes, not goodbye for the next 8-14 months.
Travel is almost certainly going to be a constant part of L-kun's life (travelling between Australia and Japan that is). At least until he gets to the age where he can choose where and how he wants to live his life. It is, however, a great way of experiencing life, and remaining connected to the two cultures that made him.
And with this post, the 2009 trip draws to a close, and we get ever closer to the current day.
Ben,
ReplyDeleteThe boy will grow up to be a natural-born traveller, I'll bet !
He already is - T-chan and L-kun are about to head out on his 4th trip to Japan any week now. He'll definitely be a seasoned traveller by the time he's an adult... but I don't suppose that translates always into the wanderlust.
ReplyDeleteAnd perhaps that's a good thing... people do need roots. The difficulty is how to put down two sets of roots in two different countries.