wii the people
a couple of months ago i wrote about "routine or rut" – my despair about the unexplored areas of hong kong i am afraid my family will never venture into.
in that blog, i mentioned that our routine included the boatclub every weekend. and i wanted a little bit more of a spontaneous, wanderlust existence.
so can someone explain to me what i was thinking in promoting us buying a wii for Christmas? and enforcing to the kids as i suggested that mummy play one more game of boxing "just to show them how it's done" that the wii is only for wiikends? they're never going to want to leave the house!
a practical (and cool) friend gave me a pragmatic tool for Christmas, "flash cards for exploring hong kong with your kids". (HOORAY!). it made me smile and i said outloud upon receiving the gift with a sidelong look at my spouse, "WE HAVE THE BOOK TOO!" she knows i want to get out more and provided me ample ideas. don't you love friends that DO something with your angst?
today, we had the pheasant kids up until around noon. andrea popped up from 1a and susan came down from 18a so we had a little tea. then after lunch we wii'ed for a while. charles saw me getting a little antsy, and i suggested i get something from our deck of cards. the skies were darkening though….should we stay home?
THERE WAS NO WAY I WAS GOING TO STAY HOME. i had my window of opportunity. we took the kids and their light sabres to the nearby pokfulam reservoir and started walking. and it was raining "baby rain". we walked the flat bit and then started the incline. the kids were fabulous and although this road is very familiar to me (i run this a lot), it was an adventure for the family. and no one was whinging! HOORAY!
the rain started coming down a little harder. sebastian was still sprinting around the place, jasper was lagging. but we kept going. i was almost afraid to make eye contact with charles, because i thought he might suggest that we head back…and i wanted to forge on.
we prayed that the rain would stop, but thanked father God for giving the trees water that they need to grow. and we kept walking. and MADE THE TURNOFF TO THE FAMILY PATH. we were going to do it! we were going to have our adventure!
the kids kept skipping along, and the rain ceased in its frequency. they lifted the hoodies from their heads. sebastian took the lead. the path smelled loamy, muddy and fresh. there was a bit of mist, and it was lovely.
jasper and i brought up the lead and i encouraged him along by calling him "jedi jasper". i helped him jump up and over rocks and breaks in the path, and he was having a fun time. he prayed outloud when we went down the final long stairway and said, "please father God, make the stairs go away and help me not to fall."
when he had completed the steps, he said, "mummy, i told father God 'thank you' and he said in my heart, 'you're welcome, son!'"
sela and carys had been stellar throughout. i was so proud of them. they are such good girls. sebastian had been creative and fun. charles looked at me and said, "pizza at home?" and i said, "or how about the boat club?"
we went to the boat club. the kids were thrilled and so am i. it was a great day.
i am going to get through that deck of cards, you know.
