Nomadic Families

I recently followed a comment link on someone's blog, and found the blog of an artistic type who seems to have no fixed home - although he has a wife and a good few kids! He has popped up all over the world with his family, staying with bloggers and friends wherever he goes, creating for a living.

It's the kind of lifestyle some of us envy. But on the flipside, I wonder how I would make that kind of lifestyle work - if it would EVER work for me and my one-child family.

You see, it's pretty secure to have a house full of goodies, a job to turn up at every day, a car, a routine... but it's also sometimes downright boring.

Becoming a nomad seems such a huge risk to those of us who live the "expected" life. Issues like schooling and security for the kid, income, food supply, shelter, what to do with what we have now - these all come up and wander the brain as soon as I think about what it would be like.

On the other hand there are the awesome experiences of being a world citizen that would make for an exciting life. Just imagine what stories you'd have to tell, what people you'd meet, what sights and sounds and cultures you'd experience! Your kid would have a childhood like none other, one that would form them into something completely different from what they may be now.

In a way, I guess I'd be scared to commit to a nomadic lifestyle - and it WOULD be a committment, because once you turn your back on the normal, you will have set your feet on a path that may never return there.

But yet, my mind sometimes wonders if we could pull it off...