Now, don’t get all excited (MOM!). We’re only moving to a new part of town, not back to the states. It’s a combination of factors that required the move, including sending a third child to private school, an unreasonable management company, trying to make our money stretch a bit farther; simple economics. I hope you wrote our address in pencil in your address book. ;)
Bekah is enjoying swimming for her PE class this term, and we’ve been diligent about packing all her things the night before so she can have them the next day for class. I was surprised to get a call this week from the office saying Bekah had left her swimsuit at home and needed it brought to the school. I questioned them since I thought she had it with her when she left the house, but they were insistent she said she left her swimsuit at home. Ooookay, I thought. Maybe she left her whole bag here at the house….. I searched high and low…no bag. I called hubbyman since he dropped her off. Yes, they had the bag when she left the house. Yes, they had it on the bus. Yes, she had it when they got off the bus (I was worried about that step). Yes, she had it on her shoulder when he dropped her off at school.
What in the world?!
I called the school back and explained that I just didn’t understand how she could have forgotten her suits, so could she please call me herself and tell me. Sure, they said.
The phone rings….”Hello…Mom….I need my swim shoes. We can’t walk around the pool without them.”
Swim shoes.
Swimsuit.
To a non English speaker, they sound practically the same.
You wonder why we have misunderstandings so often……
….but I didn’t. I do need to share it with all moms though. Updates on our life here coming soon. Honest.
Dear Santa,
I’ve been a good mom all year. I’ve fed, cleaned and cuddled my
children on demand, visited the doctor’s office more than my own doctor,
sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on
the school playground. I was hoping you could spread my list out — over
several Christmases.
Since I had to write this letter with my son’s red crayon, on the
back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles; and who knows when
I’ll find any more free time in the next 18 years, so now - -
*** Here are my Christmas wishes ***
* I’d like a pair of legs that don’t ache (-in any color, except
purple, which I already have) and arms that don’t hurt or flap in the
breeze; but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy
aisle in the grocery store.
* I’d also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh
month of my last pregnancy.
* If you’re hauling big-ticket items this year, I’d like fingerprint
resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music; a television that
doesn’t broadcast any programs containing talking animals; and a
refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide
to talk on the phone.
* On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, ‘Yes,
Mommy’ to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don’t fight
and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of
power tools.
* I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting, ‘Don’t eat
in the l iving room’ and ‘Take your hands off your brother,’ because my
voice seems to bejust out of my children’s hearing range and can only be
heard by the dog.
* If it’s too late to find any of these products, I’d settle for
enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the
luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served
in a Styrofoam container.
*If you don’t mind, I could also use a few miracles to brighten the
holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable?
It will clear my conscience immensely.
*It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around
the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an
organized crime family.
Well, the buzzer on the dryer is ringing, and my son saw my feet
under the laundry room door. I think he wants his red crayon back. Have a
safe trip Santa, and remember to leave your wet boots by the door, and come
in and dry off, so you don’t catch cold. Help yourself to cookies on the
table, but don’t eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.
Yours always with love and appreciation,
A Mom
Hubby’s boss is in town; the big guy; the owner of the company; the only guy hubby answers to so there’s just a wee bit of stress and pressure around here.
Anyway, Mr. Z (aka bossman) wanted to take our entire family out to any restaurant we chose; someplace we might not go usually. The kids immediately voted for anywhere with western style food. I vetoed McDonald’s, and tried to steer them in other directions. We finally decided on Hard Rock Café. (Of course there is one in Hong Kong!). I knew they would like the food, it’s some place we would rarely go (too expensive) and it’s a 20 minute taxi ride away.
We decided today was the day, and lunchtime would be a better time than dinner. The kids are all better behaved then (I’m not stupid!). Hubby left with two children to pick up Mr. Z and get a taxi (remember, we don’t have a car here). On the way to get him, on a sidewalk that had no people on it (oddly enough), Jon swings in a circle while David hangs onto his arm. Normally, this is not problem, but today, sweaty David hands slip and he winds up on his backside, bumping his head, and crying a bit. Bekah was grumpy and crying, as well. Great start to meet Mr. Z for lunch and all.
I left in my own taxi with two other children. No big deal. I am a pro at that now. We made it with no problem, found the rest of the gang and settled in to order. Bekah, number 2 child, immediately gets up and comes to sit next to me. She tells me she doesn’t feel good…her tummy hurts. She’s not one to complain and she isn’t my drama queen, so I knew something was up. We made two quick trips to the bathroom in 10 minutes with her thinking she would be sick, but nothing. Deep down in my Mommy soul I knew “this child is sick and isn’t going to last at lunch”. But we are here with hubby’s BOSS!!! Nuts.
We went back to the table where I quietly whispered to hubby, “I have to take Bekah home. Now.” We gathered our things and quickly left without ever eating a bite. Ugh. Totally embarrassed, but knowing Bekah was more important, outside we went to find a taxi.
Bekah is feeling lousy at this point, and I have her propped up in the taxi, leaning on me, looking out the window (she gets car sick) and telling her to take deep breaths. I text J at 1:00 on the dot and say, “Pray we get home. Bekah is looking pretty green”.
Let me pause here to say one of my fears of living in HKG is having a child throw up on the train or bus. What do you do!?!? And here we are, in public transportation, and there is real possibility that Bekah is going to vomit in the taxi. My mind is spinning as I make contingency plans in case that actually does happen. Not to mention that my Mama genes do not override my incredible gag relex (THANKS DAD!!!) and I’m worried that I will join her if she starts in!
Eight minutes later (I know this because I texted hubby again), we are about half way home and Bekah is still hanging on, but barely. Then the taxi driver stomps on the brakes to stop at a light instead of pushing it and going through the light. Very conscientious and all, except it pushes Bekah over the edge and she says, “MOMMY!!!!!!!!!!” in that voice. All you Mommy’s know what voice I’m talking about.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Yup.
We are stopped at a red light so I throw open the door of the cab and Bekah proceeds to vomit all over the road, right next to the taxi. Before she is done, the light has changed (of course!). Cars are honking and Bekah is still puking. The taxi driver reaches over in his seat, grabs a plastic bag, flips it upside down to empty it and throws it to me. I haul Bekah back in the cab (she’s still not done) and shove the bag to her face, holding it for her, all the while, fighting that gag reflex (THANKS DAD!!) and praying so hard I’m sweating.
The taxi driver is calmly driving, handing me tissues, and asking if she’s ok. Bekah finishes, I clean her up and then I have to hold the bag full of, well, you know, until we get home. We have all the windows down in the taxi so I can breathe, I mean, to help Bekah feel better, and he’s driving much more cautiously. Of course, it’s Saturday in HKG and that means serious traffic, so we spent lots of time sitting at lights.
Bekah felt better as soon as it was out of her system, so the rest of the ride was uneventful. We pulled up in front of the apartment and I threw a big bill at the taxi driver; way more than the fare. He was starting to make change and I said, “No. You keep it. You were great! M’coy. Thank you. M’coy. THANK YOU.” He was stunned but very thankful. I just wanted OUT OF THAT TAXI!!!
I don’t mean to rush Christmas, really I don’t. But I just heard of a great project for the whole family that encourages us to focus on our blessings during the Christmas season and I just had to share. Usually I don’t get these ideas until just before the holidays and I never have time to implement them. This year, I have no excuse! For the record, this isn’t my idea so I get no credit for it. I actually heard about it from a special online friend who lives in Ontario (shout out to Carla!!). It’s something they’ve done in the past and I just loved the idea. Now I have to get busy converting all the amounts to HKD so we can participate. Here is “The Blessing Box”.
P.S. If you end up doing this, please let me know how it goes. I’d love to hear your experience!
Blessing Box
What do you need to do? Have a box or a bank ready and determine where you will give the money that will be in the box at the end of 24 days. This begins on December 1st .
Day 1. One out of 5 children live in poverty lacking adequate clothing. Give 2 cents for each pair of socks or tights each child has.
Day 2. Are you thankful for the gift of electricity? Give 2 cents for each lightbulb in your house.
Day 3. Most people in the world have never touched a computer. If there is one in your home, put in 50 cents, an extra 50 cents for a scanner and 50 cents for the printer.
Day 4. Most of the world’s population lives beyond the reach of medical care. Give 10 cents for each box of band-aids in your house…an extra dime if they are not flesh coloured.
Day 5. Are you thankful you have a roof and doors to keep out the wind and rain? Give 10 cents for each exterior door your house has.
Day 6. Are you thankful for all your clothes? Give a nickel for each closet in your house.
Day 7. Are you glad you have indoor plumbing? Give 5 cents for every roll of TP in your house, counting all the stored away rolls.
Day 8. To people in refugee camps, even a thin sliver of soap is precious. Give 5 cents for each bar your family has…A dime for each soap pump.
Day 9. Do you walk to town to get a bucket of water for washing, drinking, bathing or cooking? Or are you blessed with faucets that bring precious water to you? Give 10 cents for each faucet you have and don’t forget the outside ones.
Day 10. What a blessing to be able to see and have eye doctors to help us. Give 10 cents for each pair of glasses your family members wear.
Day 11. Jesus loves the little children. Give thanks and a dollar for every child in your family and do a secret good deed for them today.
Day 12. How would you like to live in your car as some families do? Give a dime for every vehicle in your family.
Day 13 . Epidemics often follow natural disasters. Give thanks if no one in your house has been too sick this month to go to work or school and donate 50 cents.
Day 14. Did a cozy blanket cover you last night? Give a penny for every blanket in your house.
Day 15. Was it cold enough to wear a coat today? Were you thankful for your coat? Give a penny for every coat, jacket or raincoat in your house.
Day 16. In some countries of the world, most people can’t read. Are you thankful you can read? Put in a penny for every book in your home….(Yes, for most of us this is an expensive one)
Day 17. By now you have received many Christmas cards from many loving friends and family members. Give a penny for each card and be thankful for God’s love.
Day 18. Most people in the world cook over an open fire. Aren’t you glad your parents did not send your out to chop wood this morning? Give 5 cents for every burner on your stove and a nickel for every oven.
Day 19. Aren’t you glad that you have people that love and think about you? Put in 10 cents for each gift under the tree that is for you.
Day 20. Unfortunately this is the time of year in which many people suffer loss in house fires. Give 10 cents for every phone in your house in which you can dial 911 in case of emergency.
Day 21. Many people in the world suffer excruciating pain from the lack of dental care. Have you ever been grateful for toothbrushes? Give 5 cents for every toothbrush in your house.
Day 22. Many children in the world barely get one meal a day. How many did you have? Give thanks and five cents for each meal and 10 cents for each snack today.
Day 23. “Give us this day our daily bread”. Thank God for feeding you today and give one penny for every slice of bread in your house.
Day 24. Make a list of all the fruits and vegetable God created that you can name and put in a penny for each one on the list.
Use the money to purchase something out of the World Vision or Samaritan’s Purse catalog.
The inevitable has happened. Something that rarely happened in the states…..one of my children has gotten sick enough to warrant a doctor visit. The thing I have been dreading most; UGH. It’s too hard to explain how the system works here, but let’s just say, it’s different. After some calls to some western friends, we got some good leads and after a false start, we now have a diagnosis. Bekah has impetigo. That’s a contagious thing, by the way. Yay. 
So, no more school for her for the week, and we’ll be trying to keep everyone else away from her. It can get gross (and that’s all we’ll say about it right now, thankyouverymuch), and can be serious if untreated. Thankfully, we caught it very early, and she’s already on medication. She’s feeling pretty lousy though, and is being a real trooper. Friendly e-mails for Bekah are welcome!
The Chinese are very blunt. VERY blunt. Here is a short list of things that have either been said directly to my child, to me about my child (standing right there) or to someone I was with.
“She’s hard to teach. She’s a very slow learner.”
“Why is that one so much cuter than the other ones?”
“Why are you so fat? You very, very fat.”
“Having four children is bad. Very bad. Why you do that?”
“Why no school for that one? She retarded?”
“That one is too skinny. You should feed her every day. Why you not feed her every day?”
Today is David’s birthday. As is our tradition, I asked what he would like to eat for his birthday supper (or dinner, as they call it here).
“Fried Rice and Steamed Fish”.
He seems to be adjusting to Asia juuuuuuust fine. 
This story ( http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/08/politicians.meltdown.aig.ap/index.html?iref=mpstoryview )makes me embarassed to be identified as one from the USA. You don’t want to know what people here think of us right now.
I’m undecided. Should I try to catch everyone up on what has happened in the past month, fast forward to now and just forget it all, or post a bullet type update so we’re all current? Decisions, decisions. I’m leaning toward bullet type updates, because, well, I love lists. I’m so good at that format. Why mess with a good thing? (BAH…I typed “thong” by accident in that last sentence…hahahahahahahaha)
