The MommyWizard Life
And so it was, a few months back, that I found myself in room 315 of the Lotus Lake Hotel in Rewalsar, being supportive of this fairly ill Tibetan Buddhist nun from the UK, while at the same time encouraging her to not puke on my shoes. I’ve had more than a few chances to reflect on the experience since, and the only conclusion I can come to is that I’m just one of those folks who, early on in life, cut a certain deal with the Powers That Be.
With Jews, it’s the Covenant. With Christians, it’s the acceptance of Christ. With Zoroastrians….well, I really don’t know. Maybe some day, someone will enlighten me about that. The Deal, in its most basic form, is an agreement with [insert name of Higher Power here]. You get what you want from [insert name of Higher Power here], and in turn you agree to certain conditions. Recently I read what I consider the best description of the MommyWizard version of the deal, written by the infamous Subservient Worker of Wide Lawns and Narrow Minds:
Apparently I attract the bizarre in all areas of my life, for craziness can be found not only in my current employment but in my personal life as well. I believe that before I was born that I was up in Heaven trying to figure out a plan for my next incarnation. When God asked me what I wanted to accomplish in this life I said: “I want to be a writer.”
“Are you sure?” God said.
“Yes. I am positive. My previous lives as Romanian artistocracy and Hindu Brahma were great, but in this life I’d prefer to be a scribe.” I said, imagining myself wearing tweed and scratching away at Modernist poetry in the library at Harvard.
“Ok, but be warned that if you want to be a writer, that I am going to give you something to write about.” replied God.
That pretty much sums up the MommyWizard life as we know it. I remember as a youngster in Inglewood wishing over and over for a life that would be as interesting and weird as the science fiction novels I read. I guess I got my wish. Few things are stable or predictable, and the situations one finds oneself in are certainly nothing like the suburban normalcy of the American dream. We’ve been homeless for two years; become grannies twice over; survived revolution in Nepal, got through the dot-com bust, and been mobbed by dozens of Indian school girls all wanting to try out their English language skills. We’ve certainly been given “something to write about” over the years. If you don’t believe me, check out Joy’s blog…
We never did find a reasonable cell phone plan. I guess some things are beyond the skills of even [insert name of Higher Power here].
So, anyway…the whole point of today’s particular screed was to discuss the unpredictability of the MommyWizard life. Just a week or so ago, I had definite plans to return to the States in early December. And I mean definite: itinerary figured, flights selected, the works. I needed some plan in place because the clock is ticking on my visa. American visas to India can be issued for time frames up to ten years, but one can only stay in-country for only 180 days at a time. So this particular MommyWizard figured once the visa expired, it was time to go back to the Oakland ‘hood and scare up some more dead Presidents by doing the IT thang.
You’ve probably guessed that that plan’s kind of not happening now. Instead, Plan B involves my staying in and around Rewalsar for another few months. But since the visa runs out in early December, this MommyWizard has to depart India for a little bit. What to do? What most people do: wander over to Nepal for a little while, and wander back. This after emailng all and sundry that I was mos’ definitely on my way back come first week of December, and mos’ definitely available for work come second week of December. As you might imagine, Plan B involves rather a lot of new emails, all conveying the idea of “Oops. My bad.”
Such is the Mommywizard life….
