One of the most valuable lessons being a parent teaches is that of how to take pretty much everything life has to offer with a pinch of salt. This is particularly true in the case of compliance matters set around the administration of our lives. I’ll give you an example – there’s a particularly hilly part of town where the roads are excellent nevertheless, with a sectioned-off lane for cyclists and everything, except there’s one problem; no matter what top-of-the-line mountain bike you have, you simply cannot cycle up or down those hills! They’re way too steep for cycling and yet the cycling lanes are clearly visible to see.
That’s just one of many examples I can go through, but perhaps the mention of a cyclists’ lane which cannot be used in reality is more of a philosophical matter discussed under the topic. If we’re to get a bit more practical as far as the various issues around the administrative processes forming part of our lives, it becomes clear that it’s really a matter of having to connect the dots, pretty much all the time.
If that wasn’t the case and we could rely solely on the otherwise flawless systems put in place by corporations, governments and other institutions which form part of our lives, then there would be no teller at the bank, there would be no information desk official at the equivalent of your country’s Department of Home Affairs, there would be no immigration officials at the international airports, and there would be no receptionist at the school you attended or at the school which your kids are currently attending (if you have children, of course). Basically there would be no need for some kind of helpline to have to use in order to try and get in touch with someone who can provide you with assistance.
It’s probably something which is built into all these institutions which govern our lives, because I mean how many times have people applied for passports, for example? Surely BY NOW the immigration office should have long since figured out how to run things smoothly, to the point that nobody ever has to look around all wide-eyed, wondering how to fix an issue they come across which isn’t indicated to have an immediate solution?
But that’s just what it means to connect the dots as far as life-admin goes. And the mastery thereof I believe is the mastery of modern day life itself – a life which is driven by the flow of the green paper (money)!
Mothers and particularly single mothers are perhaps the ultimate masters of connecting the life-admin dots, attested to by how they are sometimes forced to use something like the New York child support laws in order to ensure their children don’t miss out on some of life’s greatest opportunities. You could defer paying for your child’s registration at a top private school for example if you can prove that the only reason you can’t pay now to secure their spot is because you’re waiting on some child support money, a grant, etc. I can guarantee that there’s no option like that printed as one of the possible choices on the application form, but it’s an option available to those who take the liberty to exercise it by enquiring about it!
