Going back to Delhi... I don't think so

Years from now, my daughter may ask me, “Mommy, where were you during the economic crash of ‘08?” It’s a very possible question, with the weekend’s news of the end of Lehman Bros. and Merrill Lynch, and the possible near-future collapse of A.I.G. Reading the pages of the New York Times, it really does feel to me as if the world as we know it is about to end. Everyone is saying it’s really bad this time, things are going to change, America is going down. But then again, maybe it feels particularly bad to me because this is the first major economic downturn I’ve experienced with any financial responsibilities. Back in the relatively minor downturn of 2001, I was just getting married, no property in my name or major debt on my balance sheet.

Of course, the old adage applies: Kids change everything. It was a kid that made us think of buying a house, so that she could have a “real home” to grow up in. A kid makes us think of socking away money so that private school is an option if the local schools don’t work out. A kid makes me want to have enough to give her everything I had the privilege of having, and then some. And a kid would make me think of altering my life considerably – selling my house, moving to a different country where there is more opportunity – so that hers can be better.

Is this is going to happen? Is the situation going to get so dire in America that we’ll have to leave? I don’t think so . But I don’t think my dad thought he’d leave India either in his youth. Things happen, and you have to be ready. My husband and I have a little joke that, if it gets really bad here, we’ll just move to India, which is poised to be one of the next superpowers. How ironic would it be if, 40 or 50 years after my family migrated to this country, we migrated back? It’s almost like a Bollywood movie! But you never know, do you.

Better go brush up on my Hindi.