We had both kind of decided that we would be going back to India, soon, but only for a few months.
We now have decided that enough is enough, we should be following our hearts and leaving our heads far behind. We only came here for me to be at home with my family for the birth of our angel and we felt we could get into the whole work, save and win the lottery mentality of 'Great' Britain. We were wrong. So instead of 'working' it out and following the path of bureaucracy we are going to cut and run. Soon.
On only one income, we hardly have enough to survive. Even if I went to work it would just about cover child care costs and anyway I don't want to, my baby is my responsibility. It's not our way of life here, we feel trapped, we have no intentions of sending our Angel to an English
school. We want her to learn the value of life, food, money and work and live closer to nature, different cultures and traditional values.
We have already started to spend some of our savings in India, I mean how crazy is that?!
Then on Wednesday morning I looked out of the window to find my little red car had been broken into. Poor thing is nearly 20 years old, handed down to me almost brand new, only just done 43,000 miles, just had new brakes fitted. It had already been broken into and stolen a few years ago when I was 9 months pregnant (I was hysterical!), it cost me an ipod and £100 for parts from the scrap yard and labour.
To be honest this time I wasn't even angry or upset, just thought to myself 'that just sums it up really'. We've decided not to get it back on the road this time. The MOT and tax is due at the end of the month, so it's just not worth it. We will take it home and leave it on the driveway until we need to use it again.
So that was the 'straw that broke the camels back' or was it a donkey?
Just as we were discussing the 'what are we doing here?' question, not long after the call to the Leicester Police, (by the way, they were wonderful, two personal calls from the police station, a forsensic's lady sent out, an offer of victim support) when there was a knock on the door.
I was thinking it was two policemen come round to say they'd found the culprit and would we like to throw a few tomatoes at the
stocks! But it was two young lads from the US of A, missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints (
Mormon's)
Now I'm not at all religious, but C is a Catholic and both of us would never turn them away when it's raining and cold outside. It seemed an appropriate time for a visit from God, so we invited them in. They stayed about half an hour listened to our story and told us theirs. Both were in their mid twenties, from the middle of nowhere and looking to find a more important meaning to life. They left us with the Book of Mormon and said goodbye.
One of the big questions we are asking ourselves at the moment is, should C get a British Passport? For our peace of mind in the ever changing bureaucratic world, it makes sense that we can come and go as we please, in times of need and times of trouble. I'm not particularly proud to be British and C is extremely patriotic to India. We would have to stay in the UK for another 2 years, (we've been here 2 already) spend another £2000, (we've spent £1000) and not leave the country for more than 90 days.
When C was stuck in India after being refused a spouse visa (we'd been married for over a year), when I had come home because I was 4 months pregnant, when the visa was finally agreed on condition that C got a new passport, (that can take years, literally, in India) when we both felt that life was tearing us apart, C went to the biggest church in Bombay and prayed that he would get his passport in time to be here for the birth of our baby.
It worked. Five weeks later, a miracle in India, he got his shiny new blue book. That night he was on the plane to England.
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Now the Book of Mormon we were given, I took it as a sign. It was the exact same blue and gold of the Indian passport. It came at the right time. It answered our question.
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We are leaving Leicester at the end of September. We hope to be back in India by the end of October... lets see...
