From the Collive reception box: for many families, it is the most pleasant period of the year. But for those of us who live abroad, this period can be incredibly difficult. Full story
By Rocl
It’s the best time and the worst time.
For many families, this is the most pleasant period of the year. The camp is over and the school year has not yet started. Children who are generally far from school go home for a few weeks of calm. They relax, reconnect with the brothers and sisters and take advantage of a brief stretch without the usual pressures, no homework, no projects, no morning. It is also time to buy school supplies and clothes and prepare for the coming year.
For children who live in the United States, it is a beautiful and timed break. A chance to go home after camp, before leaving for school, seminar or Yeshivah.
But for those of us who live abroad, this period can be incredibly difficult.
Our children, who spend the year studying in the United States, have nowhere to go between camp and school. The house is far away, sometimes through the oceans. They may have come home for Pesach just a few months ago, and bring them back now is simply not practical. The dormitories are not yet open, and the places where they could embark do not start to work before the start of the school. So where do these children go?
As a foreign parent with children mainly in the United States, it is the most difficult period of the year. I hesitate to ask people to welcome my children, especially when their houses are already full with their own children back from the camp.
But what choice do I have? Flying them at home would cost thousands of dollars. Renting a basement or a short-term apartment is also prohibitive.
So I make the calls. I reach out to friends and parents. “Do you have space for one, two, maybe even three of my children for a few nights or a week?”
It is not a complaint. It is simply our reality. And if someone has a solution, I would like to hear!
