Kaleb came home with the sniffles a few days ago and now we all have a full blown cold. I think I’m the worst. I’m staying home from school tomorrow as I just need to sleep. We’ve gone through about five boxes of Kleenex so far and I need to buy more every day. Uff da. I hope it runs its course by Saturday, when Kaleb’s party is happening. Then there’s the family party on Sunday, and Kory’s company Christmas party…. And well, there’ just no time to be sick right now so I’m praying this moves through me quickly.
I’m up later than I want to be but I’m still working on party plans. I want there to be a few surprises for Kaleb so I have to wait until he’s in bed to get some things done. More ideas keep popping in my head so there are more details to work out. I’m sure every kid will remember this party. Turid was going to help me, but she’s flying to Oslo tomorrow to attend a funeral so that’s not going to happen. The husband to one of her best childhood friend’s killed himself a few days ago. He was only 42 with two little kids. That’s the third suicide we’ve heard about since being here. One guy from our connect group at church, his wife intentionally overdosed on prescription drugs a few months ago and left him with a two year old boy to raise by himself, and then a teenage boy in our neighborhood hung himself in the woods a few blocks from where we live. Statistically Norway isn’t high on the charts for suicides – they average about 11 for every 100,000 people, but when it hits close to home it’s hard to think about statistics. Turid said the news has been reporting more suicides now with the financial crisis hitting Norway so hard. The Norwegian stock market has really tanked. Normally they are around 500 points and it’s down under 150, so they’ve lost a higher percentage than the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
I didn’t realize how hard this world wide recession was affecting people here until I started talking to some classmates. Many workers from Poland have had to go home, as there are no longer jobs here. My friend Vestina, her boyfriend works in a fish factory and he’s been laid off – not because there are no fish, but because there are no orders for the fish as they get exported. So Norway is feeling the pinch too but I had no idea. We enjoy three meals a day and a warm house so in my little bubble, life is grand (except that I have a cold.)
Kaleb’s life is pretty grand too as he has been hanging out with Tobias every day. They have been taking the city bus to school together (the roads are still solid ice) and have been together after school a lot. Tobias helped Kaleb with his homework today, which was good for me because I was making dinner and Kory was working on another drawing. And I think it helps Kaleb to stay focused and complete his work as the motivation is right in front of him – Tobias anxiously waiting. Tonight Sabina was here too and she was pacing like a caged animal, wondering how long it would be until he could go play. That kid can sit at a table and do absolutely nothing for a solid hour if he has homework in front of him. But he finally finished and they all bundled up and went outside in the freezing cold, pitch black night and played Hide and Seek. I fail to see the attraction to that whole scenario, but it’s been a while since I was a kid, so I won’t ask. I’m just thanking God that everything we had hoped for in coming here, is here. Hallelujah!
I’m up later than I want to be but I’m still working on party plans. I want there to be a few surprises for Kaleb so I have to wait until he’s in bed to get some things done. More ideas keep popping in my head so there are more details to work out. I’m sure every kid will remember this party. Turid was going to help me, but she’s flying to Oslo tomorrow to attend a funeral so that’s not going to happen. The husband to one of her best childhood friend’s killed himself a few days ago. He was only 42 with two little kids. That’s the third suicide we’ve heard about since being here. One guy from our connect group at church, his wife intentionally overdosed on prescription drugs a few months ago and left him with a two year old boy to raise by himself, and then a teenage boy in our neighborhood hung himself in the woods a few blocks from where we live. Statistically Norway isn’t high on the charts for suicides – they average about 11 for every 100,000 people, but when it hits close to home it’s hard to think about statistics. Turid said the news has been reporting more suicides now with the financial crisis hitting Norway so hard. The Norwegian stock market has really tanked. Normally they are around 500 points and it’s down under 150, so they’ve lost a higher percentage than the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
I didn’t realize how hard this world wide recession was affecting people here until I started talking to some classmates. Many workers from Poland have had to go home, as there are no longer jobs here. My friend Vestina, her boyfriend works in a fish factory and he’s been laid off – not because there are no fish, but because there are no orders for the fish as they get exported. So Norway is feeling the pinch too but I had no idea. We enjoy three meals a day and a warm house so in my little bubble, life is grand (except that I have a cold.)
Kaleb’s life is pretty grand too as he has been hanging out with Tobias every day. They have been taking the city bus to school together (the roads are still solid ice) and have been together after school a lot. Tobias helped Kaleb with his homework today, which was good for me because I was making dinner and Kory was working on another drawing. And I think it helps Kaleb to stay focused and complete his work as the motivation is right in front of him – Tobias anxiously waiting. Tonight Sabina was here too and she was pacing like a caged animal, wondering how long it would be until he could go play. That kid can sit at a table and do absolutely nothing for a solid hour if he has homework in front of him. But he finally finished and they all bundled up and went outside in the freezing cold, pitch black night and played Hide and Seek. I fail to see the attraction to that whole scenario, but it’s been a while since I was a kid, so I won’t ask. I’m just thanking God that everything we had hoped for in coming here, is here. Hallelujah!
No comments:
Post a Comment