Is My Blond Showing?

It’s been a while since I’ve written, and I hope to catch up a bit.  A lot has happened: we’ve had family visit us in Beijing, we went to Hong Kong and had a good visit with Calvin (our foreign exchange son of 9 1/2 years ago; and I went home to the States with the intention of helping my in-laws and of celebrating  my grandsons first birthday.  I no sooner arrived at  home when I called Tom to come home to say goodbye to his dad.  

Since we’ve been back in China we’ve celebrated Christmas and New Year’s, and started language lessons.  We’ve had some interesting encounters with local Chinese as well:  is my blond showing?

I guess I’ll start in the middle because saying goodbye to my father-in-law, Hal, was the last thing we expected to do this past fall.  It was also the most difficult.  The trip I’d planned to the States included spending a week helping Nancy and Hal followed by a week with the Bloss clan to celebrating grandson Ben’s first birthday.  The trip home took an unexpected turn hours before I landed as my father-in-law was taken to the hospital where he and many of the family spent his final days.

I learned from my sisters-in-law about loving care and courage.  l learned from my mother-in-law about grace, unwavering devotion, life-long love and perseverance.   Even in his final days my father-in-law taught me that there is hope and dignity and compassion and love in dying.   From my husband I learned that we should take each day to know one another and not let distance matter because distance can be a barrier to knowing those we care the most about.  We laid Hal to rest November 21, 2012.

On a happier note we had visitors in mid-October.  Tom’s sister Sue and husband Bob (of Kansas City, KS) and niece Alyssa (recently of Paju, South Korea) came for a visit.  We walked miles with Tom in the lead through the Forbidden City and Jingshan Park to the north (6 miles that day), the Great Wall with 1100 plus uneven steps up and 1100 plus uneven steps down (athletic Alyssa is the only one who couldn’t spell “tired” at the end of that day!), and the Summer Palace (another 5 or 6 miles that day).  Tom left for Hong Kong the day before our family departed and without Tom to lead us on, we took a rest.  All we could manage was shopping on Wangfujing Street right outside our door.  We took time for a DVD at home and dinner out.  Sue, Bob and Alyssa went home exhausted, and I traveled to Hong Kong “just plain worn out”.

Hong Kong was amazing.  Even though Tom was there because of work we had a great time exploring.  We caught up with Calvin one evening and he treated us to dinner at a very nice restaurant overlooking the harbor and Hong Kong Island.  Unfortunately, we weren’t able to see Calvin’s parents or girlfriend as they were at an important event at church.  After spending a couple of days in Hong Kong all I could think to ask Calvin was, “what in the world did you think when you found yourself far from this magnificent city and into the wilds of West Virginia?” 

Somewhere, between Hong Kong and Arkansas I learned about the Melbourne Cup.  I got gussied up and attended a fancy luncheon sponsored by the Australia New Zealand Association.  For those not in the know, the Melbourne Cup is a 3 minute horse race that stops everyday life on an entire continent for a day or two. 

In December I flew to Slidell, Louisiana to help my grandson, Ben celebrate his first birthday.  I loved being with my grandchildren:  I really want to be around Emily as she grows up: as she marches to her own drummer.  I never met a happier boy than Ben; and I think Ben takes after his mother.

Tom and I celebrated a quiet Christmas, our 36^th wedding anniversary and New Year’s in Beijing.  We vowed not to be away from family over the holidays again.  We got out to see local sites in Beijing, and focused on one bridge.  We spent several days taking pictures of the bridge and we plan to go back on regularly over the next year.

Life is picking up with language lessons, Bible study and knitting; and of course my weekly adventures foraging for food. 

Is my blond showing?  I’m fairly sure it is…

Tom and I stumbled onto a singles mixer at the Fortune Mall while exploring a way to walk from the subway to a western grocery store by staying inside for as long as possible.  I attracted the attention of two Chinese men before I knew what was happening.  It’s not usual for Chinese men to strike up a conversation with westerns, let alone a conversation with a western woman. 

On another day we went to Taimiao, a temple for ancestral worship and animal sacrifice.  It was COLD and we were bundled up to the tops of our heads with scarves and hats; I felt invisible in my layers of clothing and went on to prove that point by wearing sunglasses.  Still, I was approached by two gentlemen who requested that I pose for a picture with them, which I did.  With all the recent attention I've gotten I had to I asked Tom: “is my blond showing?”