Disclaimer: These are not conclusions drawn from a deep understanding of mathematics and physics. These are flights of fancy from watching too much Star Track.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatland
As an adoptive parent, I sometimes wince when people tell me that my daughter is "lucky". It is indisputable that all of my children are "lucky" kids. After all, not only do they not know disease or hunger, they haven't even experienced life without climate control. So, why do I feel the need to mumble back, "but it is I who is lucky" when people tell me that my daughter has "good fate 好命"? Because, it means that in some ways, she was rescued, therefore indebted, hence not as entitled to her current life as her rambunctious, and ever-so- demanding brothers?
Curious as well, are the feeling that many adoptive mothers share, that we are somehow, on some level, responsible for not having been there from the beginning. No one claims that to be a logical feeling, and for some it's not just a wistful longing for q 2 hour feedings....but a conviction that these children were ours, from the beginning, and we should have been able to conquer the time space continuum to, well, rescue them earlier! It is just a part of our job description as parents to rescue our own children, any of them.
There was the true story of a courageous mother cat that went into a burning house again, and again, and again, until all her kittens were rescued. (They all survived, thank goodness). There are also, the many colorful China adoption journals, blogs, and You-Tube videos. For our own family, The China Adoption trip was my husband's "best vacation ever". He and my parents flew business class as was the"norm" for China adoption at the time (why?), toured Beijing for a few days, stayed at carefully selected (by me) five star hotels, and dined at the most prestigious restaurants (my father's dream), while picking up our dear daughter. My daughter may have suffered, but heroes we were not to her, more like, tardy parents not too swift with paperwork? If she could have spoken on Gotcha day, she would have asked, "and what took you guys so long?".
There was the twin paradox, now for me is the adoption paradox that exist because as humans we are only able to perceive time as a linear dimension. So, perhaps, my daughter is lucky the same ways her brothers are, no more, and definitely no less. And if my children want to grow up feeling grateful for their blessings, and feel responsible for their parents, so much the better for me and my husband. Filial piety is very important to the Chinese, let's keep that tradition going.
So, what's that got to do Flatland? Well, it may be that we are stuck in our version of Flatland where the reality of our existence is "underestimated" by infinite degrees. When we are no longer bond by the constraint of time and space, our love for one another also becomes "omniscient and omnipresent", when we reconcile ourselves with God.
Curious as well, are the feeling that many adoptive mothers share, that we are somehow, on some level, responsible for not having been there from the beginning. No one claims that to be a logical feeling, and for some it's not just a wistful longing for q 2 hour feedings....but a conviction that these children were ours, from the beginning, and we should have been able to conquer the time space continuum to, well, rescue them earlier! It is just a part of our job description as parents to rescue our own children, any of them.
There was the true story of a courageous mother cat that went into a burning house again, and again, and again, until all her kittens were rescued. (They all survived, thank goodness). There are also, the many colorful China adoption journals, blogs, and You-Tube videos. For our own family, The China Adoption trip was my husband's "best vacation ever". He and my parents flew business class as was the"norm" for China adoption at the time (why?), toured Beijing for a few days, stayed at carefully selected (by me) five star hotels, and dined at the most prestigious restaurants (my father's dream), while picking up our dear daughter. My daughter may have suffered, but heroes we were not to her, more like, tardy parents not too swift with paperwork? If she could have spoken on Gotcha day, she would have asked, "and what took you guys so long?".
There was the twin paradox, now for me is the adoption paradox that exist because as humans we are only able to perceive time as a linear dimension. So, perhaps, my daughter is lucky the same ways her brothers are, no more, and definitely no less. And if my children want to grow up feeling grateful for their blessings, and feel responsible for their parents, so much the better for me and my husband. Filial piety is very important to the Chinese, let's keep that tradition going.
So, what's that got to do Flatland? Well, it may be that we are stuck in our version of Flatland where the reality of our existence is "underestimated" by infinite degrees. When we are no longer bond by the constraint of time and space, our love for one another also becomes "omniscient and omnipresent", when we reconcile ourselves with God.
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