Family Life.

I would like to make a quick note on one of the many things I love about Latin America: The Importance of family.  It seems like in American media, pregnancy is a downer.  When women become pregnant unintentionally in the movies it’s always a disaster.  No one looks forward to parenthood and Children become a burden.  I was recently watching a Novella in which the main character suspected she might be pregnant with her boyfriend’s baby.  They were not married nor did they intend to be (due to complications that only a Novella could pull off) but when she told him the news, the joy was remarkable.  There was no moment of fear that one’s youth is over.  He merely commented that this was what he had been waiting his whole life for.

I thought this was a bit much, until I considered all of the young parents I knew in Costa Rica and remembered how much they loved their Children and how much they claimed their lives had been improved because of them.  Then yesterday, when teaching one of my night classes, some of my students, told me about their sons and daughters.  None of them was embarrassed, they were all incredibly proud of their accomplishments as parents and knew that they were in school to try to better the lives of themselves and their children. 

            One of my favorite songs is called “More adventurous” by a band called Rilo Kiley.  In the song the main singer claims that “maybe ours is the purpose of all mankind, get loved, make more, try to stay alive.”  I similarly, like to think that we exist for each other.  It’s possible that I come from such a loving family, that my perspective is too rosy to be realistic, but even so, I think that if the entire region of Latin America gets it, It shouldn’t be so hard for the rest of us.  Family life, ought to be encouraged.  This doesn’t mean that we ought to rush into things that we aren’t ready for, but rather that we should consider the stigma that comes along with young families.  It’s not sacrificing youth, it’s just a matter of choosing a different path.  

That's all that I really wanted to say for now.  I'll put up a real post soon.  (Oh also, I temporarily lost my cell phone, so don't try to call for now.)