AdventureDad

Like all South American people, my wife is very close to her family.  Especially to her mom.  During all the years we lived in NYC it was easy to fly down to Mexico City for a visit.  But it’s a bit longer flight from Stockholm, Sweden.  We have flown a lot with our little Toddler Daniel but it’s a lot more work than traveling alone.  He behaves incredibly well on the flights and there are never any problems but it’s hard work.  You can forget about having a glass of wine and read a nice book, catch a movie, or surf the internet with the new Wi-Fi in the sky on SAS.

So this summer we’re bringing some of our Mexican family over here.  Lupita has been to Sweden many times.  She was first here in 1996 when we lived here briefly and also visited us when we moved here in  2004.  This time Sandra’s sister Patricia and her kid Ximena are visiting for the very first time.  Ximena is almost the same age as Daniel and they get along very well.  If her screaming doesn’t kill him…..

If you are thinking a quick stay to say hello, think again.  The Mexican klan likes to visit for a looooooong time.  When Daniel was born in 2004 Lupita came to visit us.  She stayed three months.  I don’t know anyone in the world who can have their mother in law stay with them for three months.  Or even three weeks.  The limit is usually around three days – at the most.  But she is always a tremendeous help around the house and takes care of herself.  She has lots of experience with kids and was invaluable during Daniel’s first three months.  She’s definitely one of the reasons why he’s doing so well now. She cooks, cleans, and does a lot of other stuff.  I have to tell her, on a daily basis, to sit the hell down and relax.  But it’s tough for her to sit down with a glass of wine and just relax.  Before you know it she’s  doing stuff around the house.

This time the klan will stay about a month so we should have plenty of time to show them Sweden.  While Lupita takes care of herself and dows a lot of work Patricia is more laid back (polite word for  a bit lazy).  She kind of goes with the flow.  But she has plenty of work with her kid Ximena, who is demanding and very high maintenance.  Ximena doesn’t like to sleep, hates to eat, and has a scream which can wake the dead.  This means  A LOT of work for poor Patricia.  I could go into a long rant about how this is all her and Marcelos’s fault since they have been too lenient, don}t plan, and has no discipline but I will shut up for once in my life.  I’m sure this could/would have happened to me as well if Sandra hadn’t been such a super-mom.  She read tons of stuff on the internet and early on knew about many of those clever parent traps.  She spoke early of good eating habits, about teaching Daniel to sleep, to be calm ,how to build his immune system, and basically about how to raise a nice well balanced kid.  That stuff has worked out very well for us which means Sandra now needs to do 25% of the work required by Patricia.

The kids get along well and they have plenty of time to explore Stockholm, the worlds most kid friendly town.  Actually, I think Sweden must be the worlds most kid friendly country.  For the Mexicans, this is heaven.  We take things here for granted that doesn’t exist in Mexico.  Like just opening your door and going for a walk with the carriages.  Sidewalks everywhere, filled with cafes and absolutely no traffic.  Or having five playgrounds just outside your building filled with great kids that all play together without fighting while the parents sit on the side, talk and perhaps have a glass of wine.  Or taking the bus, where parents with kids don’t pay and you got plenty of designated space for your carriage.  Not to forget a basic thing like being able to walk anywhere without the risk of being assulted, kidnapped, or have your kid breathe in a years supply of smog in a few minutes.  Life with a kid here is VERY  EASY compared to other places.  The government throws money at you and I haven’t even told you about the unbelievably generous parental leave we got here.  I’m not sure I should because every family in the world would immediately want to move here. 

The visit has included trips to the zoo, lots of long walks, exploring the old town, going to the beach with the kids, mountain bike riding,  and watching a few movies.  Plus lots of nice dinners and plenty of wine. I have had vacation/parental leave for almost seven weeks but have now started working again.  That means more time for me to blog and lots of time for the Mexican klan to gossip and enjoy each others company without me boring them.

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