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 36th
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?”
