CHristmas 2009

it was a great day.

charles had arranged it so that that kids took care of themselves this morning. he did this by laying out pop tarts and preloading the dvd with THE SANTA CLAUSE. he put sticky notes on the plates with each child's name on it, and by leaving instructions (PRESS RED BUTTON) by the one remote control.

sebastian woke up around 6am and raced into our room. charles told him his mission instructions were in the sitting room. sebastian ate his pop tart and waited. then his siblings followed. actually, sela had to be woken by me at 7.30.

and then the gifting commenced. we started wtih stockings and kept going. it was fantastic. the kids loved their presents from auntie pammie and auntie mandy, but most of all, they loved their DS from mum and daddy.

they ate cursory breakfasts, and then played with their ds' until it was time to get dressed. we were out the door by 12.30 and at terri's by 1pm.

i was responsible for one ham, a macaroni cheese, a happy birthday Jesus cake and garlic mashed potatoes for about 20 people. there were two hams and two turkeys. and it was divine. the food was heavenly, the weather perfect, company excellent and the kids, really great.(left: sela and carys help make the mash potatoes)

i dont know if it is the kids getting older, but this was just a fantastic Christmas. we pulled out a puzzle and they were still working on it when i left, if you can believe it. and, we left at 10.30. after arriving at 1pm. can you believe it. that's how old the kids are getting. we can be doing these things now.

it was such a great day.

only downside, carys isn't feeling well. she started weeping towards the end of the night and that is the only reason i walked away from the puzzle while it was still unfinished.

a wonderful, wonderful CHristmas. thank you all.

xo xo xo tess

Jesus is born in Bethlehem!

it is just past midnight.

we have had a remarkably relaxing day.

today jasper and i had some one on one time that didn't involve makeshift surgery. he wanted to go to park n shop and on a few last minute errands with me. he asked if we could take the bus and of course the answer was yes. once in central he asked if he could get a sausage bun and of course the answer was yes. ditto the apple juice. we had a very nice, very companionable time. even better, when i asked him what the best breakfast possible would be for tomorrow, instead of answering waffles or dollar pancakes or sausages and eggs….he chose CAPTAIN CRUNCH. now, i know that i kiboshed the captain until i knew what he was the captain of, but apparently he is the captain of CRUNCH, which is the equivalent of being the sultan of swing. so the cereal is now allowed back in the flat.

the others played downstairs, iced cookies at another flat, and at 4.15pm, we left, dressed for church.

we went to st john's cathedral, for the 5pm christingle service. it was beautiful. the rector explained the symbolism of the christingle orange.

Christingle,
which means 'Christ Light', is a symbol of the Christian faith. During
the service each child is presented with a Christingle – an orange
decorated with a candle, red ribbon, fruit and sweets. The orange
represents the world, the red ribbon around it the blood of Christ through which our redemption has come, the
fruit symbolises God's creation and the candle Jesus, the Light of the
World. four toothpicks are adorned with sweeties. the toothpicks symbolise each season, a reminder of Christ's eternal presence. The wood is part of God's created order. 

in previous years when we have attended the service, we have sat in the very very back, farthest from the toilets which all our kids have had to use. so this year, charles arrived at 4pm (one hour before the service) and got very good seats for the pheasants and for us. 11 in total.

the church started filling up quickly and by 4.25 he was calling me and asking, "will you be here soon?" and i could hear people asking him, "are these seats taken?"

we ended up giving up three of our seats to a mother with a young child and two visiting grandmothers. as you would!

it was a lovely time, and we were home to pizza dinner with the phezzies, and conversation with the kiddies. they left around 8pm, and then all six caldwells decided we would watch rudolph the red nosed reindeer. so drowsy now, the kids snuggled close, and it was lovely and wonderful. a fantastic family time.

off to bed.

charles and i hopped into action, filling stockings and santa sacks (because presents cannot be wrapped this year thanks to the edict of eco man sebastian) we have purchased santa sacks from which charles will put the gifts into bags before handing them over to the kids…it's what sebastian suggested.

20 minutes later that was organised, and then boom, my boy headed off to union church for the 11 pm candlelight service, leaving me to do a few last minute items.

silent night,

holy night

all is calm

all is quiet

saving time & expanding my skill set

after returning and recovering from disney (all kids coughing and with "croaky" voices if you believe carys), i realised jasper's stitches still needed to come out. this was bad news because i still needed to do a few other things.

things which my children would consider MUCH more important on the bigger scale. shopping for them and Christmas dinner for example!

i looked up the location of the place where they would take out the stitches. truthfully, it wasn't that inconvenient. but the hours were a little.

janne came over, and we chatted. the kids played quietly. i was talking about jasper and how getting his stitches out what something that had to be done that day (because the clinic will be closed over the next few days) and then an idea hit me. gently.

i turned to janne and said, "i wonder if i could remove them myself."

she nodded, "i should think so."

after she left, i thought about it a bit more. gave one last cursory glance at the clinic information but my mind was made up. i knew what i was going to do and it was time to get on with it. i found sewing scissors and i found (tweezerman, only the best for my boy) tweezers and i boiled the kettle. sterlized my instruments for five minutes.

looked around for other essentials. a clip for his hair, baby batman for comfort, and a bright light.

i drained the instruments, located my boy, pushed baby batman into his arms and sat him down under the lights. washed the area with rubbing alcohol.

picked up the scissors. (didn't ask for an assistant although there were three VERY willing assistants). plucked at the stitches which were kind of loose. this i took to be a good sign.

snip.

snip.

snip.

i think i made one more snip as well, near a knot.

i placed the scissors on the towel.

are you done? inquired jasper, sliding away from me.

not quite, little man.

now the tweezers went into action. unfortunately, i pulled some blonde strands as i removed the first stitch and so jasper had to be convinced to return to me. reminders of Christmas two days away did the trick.

the second stitch came out well, and i kept an eye on the thread disappearing just so i knew there were no remnants of thread floating around inside his head.

the third stitch was the easiest yet.

the cut is still nicely stuck together.

and voila, the stitches were out.

jasper was very appreciative and i was quite impressed as i wrapped up my tools, took them to the kitchen and cleaned up the operating/television room.

it's Christmas eve morning and all is very well! we wish the same for you and yours.

meeting the mouse

yesterday i took on a task i have avoided for four long years.

we went to disneyland.

we made our reservations at disneyland hotel to stay one night, and arranged that we would go with victor's family. it's a good match. vic and seb get along very well, and janne and kenneth are easy company. their little girl amalie constantly has fun comments to entertain us and carys and sela like her a LOT. amalie is quite like sela, actually.

so. yesterday we were meant to leave the flat at 7.45am, but at that appointed time i was to be found racing around looking for jasper's inhaler, my phone…you know. we were off to a late start and i was disconcerted.

finally, we made it to cyberport, met up with "the victor's" as jasper calls them, and it felt like our mini holiday had started. the kids were so excited. the girls were wearing disney costumes and as we pulled into the disneyland hotel they just cheered and exclaimed OH WOW!

it was too early to check in, but we had free parking and there was free transportation to the park. we jumped on a bus, and next thing i knew, we were at disneyland. AMAZING.

hong kong disneyland is much smaller than any of the other disneys. but the atmosphere is still the same. and the joy the kids feel is palpable.

we split up…charles and kenneth took vic, seb and jasper to TOMORROWLAND for space mountain and buzz lightyear, while we ladies headed to fantastyland for the teacups, small world, pooh, etc.

we hadn't taken more than 100 steps when a lady stopped us and asked if our princesses would like VIP seating for the 3.30 parade. janne and i raised our eyebrows at each other and smiled. we knew it had been a good idea to let them dress up!

disney has LOTS of shops. there are stores galore and we deliberately encouraged the girls to wear their princess clothes because we reckoned that if they were trussed up in their disney dresses, they wouldn't point to the dresses in the windows and loudly and repeatedly request that we purchase the aforementioned items for them. we hadn't realised special seating might be part of the deal!

exciting business for the girls.

the longest we stood in any lineup was 10 minutes. we loved the teacups, rode dumbo (not as exciting), took the winnie the pooh ride, and then we sat for the 20 minute mickey's philharmonic orchestra 3-d movie, which i considered to be a highlight of the afternoon. the girls were enchanted and so WAS I.

afterwards, it was definitely time to eat and so we caught up with the men in tomorrowland and went to the stargazer cafe, where we all ate burgers and chips. sebastian was thrilled by this point…he had been on space mountain and had loved it. jasper, well, he was less than thrilled.

afterwards, sebastian and charles lined up again for space mountain and the rest of us tried the buzz lightyear ride (VERY COOL, I WANT TO DO THAT ONE SEVERAL TIMES WITHOUT KIDS BECAUSE I KNOW I COULD GET GREAT SCORES).

at the beginning of the day, we had thought that maybe we could last until the fireworks started at 9pm.

however, by 3pm, we knew this was no longer an option. we went to the amazing lion king show and as delighted as the girls were, i could see their energy flagging.

at 3.15 we headed back down main street for our VIP seating. sadly, no chairs or free drinks while we waited, but a fellow encouraging the young princesses who were sitting on roped off road in case you were wondering about our vip conditions… to cheer loudly.

about the princesses. amalie, sela and carys were wearing crocs, warm tights, and princess dresses wtih a shirt underneath. some other girls we saw, also in princess dresses were complete wtih hair extensions, (!!), massive amounts of makeup, and high heels…imagine trying to walk around in high heels!

i digress.

the disney parade was brilliant. the floats were fantastic and the dancers were AMAZING. the girls loved seeing the princesses on the floats, and waved and were convinced that snow white and cinderella waved and blew kisses RIGHT at them. and they were so thrilled when one of the mice from cinderella came up and gave them high fives.

sebastian, victor and jasper loved the green soldiers from toy story and buzz and woody. and of course, santa was hugely popular and extremely endearing.

and then it was over.

it was 4pm.

we did a couple more rides and then janne and i realised the kids were ready to go and so were we. they were drooping.

five minutes after exiting the park, we were at the hotel. we had beat the crowds, there was no rush. IT WAS WONDERFUL.

we ordered room service, and let the kids watch television in bed after quick baths. the girls insisted on wearing disney pajamas.

i was asleep before they were.

this morning, they were awake before i was.

we were at breakfast for 8am, a massive buffet breakfast where the disney characters walk around the tables and take pictures with you. needless to say this was a massive thrill for old and young alike. the kids ate their mickey mouse shaped waffles, and silver dollar pancakes, and then raced outside and played in the maze. it was a highlight of their day! we adults managed to get a few discussions in before kenneth had to catch a ferry, and janne decided to tour the grounds with the kids rather than head back to the park for day #2.

so…we went back to the park.

as we entered, we saw a massive lineup for mickey and minnie. the kids wanted to get a family picture and i admit, so did i. but not with that lineup! then i saw a lineup for donald and daisy that wasn't too outrageous and we headed towards that, but realised that they had closed the lineup. charles and i continued down main street, and i grabbed his hand and said,

"something is just going to happen. i just know it."

seven seconds later TOPS a lady approached us, and we figured it was VIP passes for the disney parade again. but no…she wanted to know if our family wanted to be the grand marshalls for the disney parade !!!

HELLO!

DIDN"T I SAY SOMETHING WAS GOING TO HAPPEN????

we agreed to come back to city hall at 2.50.

carys charles and sebastian wanted to ride space mountain again, and so we headed to TOMORROWLAND for them to use their fast pass cards. then sela and jasper and i went to buzzlightyear, where we played twice.

after our second game, i saw the staff setting up ropes. i took a quick look at my phone…11.58. bingo! buzz lightyear must be arriving soon! and indeed, two minutes later he appeared. got some cute pictures with the kiddies.

as we exited buzz, and prepared to head back to the waterplay area again, staff noticed sela and gave her the vip pass for the parade. she asked for one for carys. i agreed, and started looking for jasper. they kept talking to me and i kept walking around, looking for him.

jasper, jasper jasper.

no jasper no jasper no jasper.

i widened my circle outside the toy area. nothing.

sela and i prayed.

no jasper.

we went into the toy shop.

no jasper.

kept recircling our area. no jasper no jasper no jasper.

started asking people if they had seen a little blonde boy, five years old. i had his picture on my phone.

after 7 minutes, i contacted security. they were brilliant. as i was talking with them, a man approached me and asked if i was looking for a little boy. i said yes, and he said that a little boy had gone toward main street. sela and i hotfooted it in that direction.

where where where?

i went to lost children and stayed long enough only to write my contact details and jasper's name. we left again, calling for jasper.

i know hong kong. i knew he was physically safe. but i also knew he was probably scared and that was what was upsetting me.

we saw charles. i quickly told him what was wrong. i left sela with him and the other two kids and did more running around. still by the areas we had been near. b
uzz, wet play, red car, buzz store. where buzz was. no jasper, no jasper no jasper. where are you where are you i am here jasper jasper jasper.

i moved out to widen my circle again, and then i saw a lady in red, holding the hand of a boy in blue.

jasper.

and i found myself next to him and he was cuddling me.

he had gone to main street.

who knows how we had gotten separated, but he had been very brave, they said. had told them i was wearing light purple, his sisters were in princess dresses and his brother and sister and dad were on space mountain. showed them were charles had written his telephone number on his arm in case he got lost. (not sure how that number didn't work).

reunited and it feels so good. the staff were professional and thorough and impressive. many thanks.

we ate lunch, saw the mickey philharmonic 3d show again, in the front row…it was divine the second time round and sebastian loved it. we were first in line for pictures with belle.

this was wonderful, because belle is sebastian's favourite disney princess. "she likes reading, just like me."

i asked the lady who was setting up the barricades, "which princess is it?" and she replied, "belle". and i smiled and said, "sebastian, who is your favourite princess?" and he said, "belle." and then his voice got a little softer and he said, "she is beautiful just like you mummy." and my heart just about stopped right there. my perfect moment.

all the kids loved meeting belle, but the one that cracks my heart is sebastian, who was smitten by her.  it was gorgeous.

then we meandered down to main street, met up with the people for the parade and were ushered into a private room where we were given many stickers and free embroidered mickey ears!!! yay!

we walked down to the grand marshall car and got in. heard them announce that disney was proud to have the CALDWELL FAMILY from canada as grand marshalls of their parade. and the car took off and the kids started waving and blowing kisses and yelling shèng dàn kuài lè (merry Christmas).

then our bit was over, we sat down in the vip concrete and enjoyed the show. it was spectacular.

afterwards, we met minnie and mickey, had our pictures taken with them and then we left the park.

it was a great two days, and yes, disneyland really does seem like the happiest place on earth. the joy the children feel is so contagious. the songs are so familiar. disneyland evokes happy memories of your own childhood while you are making new memories with your own children. it is sentimental, wonderful, overwhelming, and yes, addictive.

thank you callesens.

tis the season of forgiveness

sela and carys experienced that fun old "ramifications of your actions" today…they hated having to stick near me after during and before services, particularly afterwards when all the kids were racing around and there was a smorgasborg of delicious food offered to all. but my girls did not get one crumb. they stared enviously as their brothers engulfed sausage rolls, biscuits and swallowed lemonade. the aforementioned brothers tried to smuggle supplies to their distraught sisters but were intercepted by mamasan.

after we left church, we went and had lunch and may i say that the kids were really quite well behaved. other people usually comment that they are well behaved, but today even WE commented on it! that says something and i have probably jinxed myself but so be it. they really were a pleasure.

we walked through hong kong park and this is where it gets interesting. the boys were playing on the airplane, which has two steering wheels, when another little boy, probably three years old, came walking up and over the "cockpit" area of the plane. jasper and sebastian said, "hey!" but kept playing batman and robin.

the little boy then nestled in beside jasper, thereby making quite a tight fit on the seat. the boy reached up and put his hands on the steering wheel. jasper was laughing and saying "hey!" and then the little boy bent down and suddenly jasper's face contorted and he screamed, "he bit me!!!"

jasper started to cry.

charles and i jumped up. i ran to jasper, flipped up his shirt and saw the red raised areas. POOR JASPER. the kid saw my face and ran to his mother, who was on the phone. i walked after him, jasper in my arms.

the mother kept talking on the phone.

"is this your little boy?" i asked? and the mother kept nodding.

charles was behind me, and i didn't realise this. it was his turn to talk. "your son bit my little boy!"

the mother said, "sorry sorry" and kept on talking on the phone. she looked up at us, surprised we were still there and said, "sorry sorry" and then went back to her conversation… and kept on talking on the phone.

the little boy followed jasper a few more times, and i kept far away from them.

sebastian took it really interestingly.

"i really don't like that boy" he told me, his face full of thunder.

"i know what it is like when someone hurts someone you love," i told him. i really do, sebbie. and i gave him a big cuddle. i reminded him that not forgiving someone makes us feel yukky inside.

and he looked at me and said, "i don't want to forgive him. he hurt jj"

i told him the only way to make the yukky feeling go away was to forgive. he said he didn't like feeling that way. he definitely took it harder than jasper.

anyway.

i couldn't believe the mother… did i mention she kept on talking on the phone?

tomorrow we are off to disneyland. it is cold cold cold. how are we ever going to survive??

expect pictures soon.

cold cold cold!

If you want to read about Jasper getting stitches, head on over to Charles' blog. But first let me confess: when i got the text that Jasper was en route to the hospital to get stitches i did not leap up and dash to the hospital. I stayed put for 12 minutes exactly.

I knew the hospital would triage.

I knew that if I saw my son with blood pouring out of his head, and if I was told there would be a four hour wait until he was treated, I would get a little bit vocal. I knew it was best that i wait until he was at least cleaned up. So I took 12 minutes for myself, for the situation, for the big picture, then I headed off.

I don't regret it.

If you want the rest of the story with pictures taken from my nifty little iphone, over to Charles' blog you go!

In the meantime, a monsoon from China has caused a drop in temperatures this week. Todays temperatures are ranging from 12-15 and Thursday it is meant to drop to 10-14C. The government saw it prudent to issue the below warning:

Cold Weather Warning

The Cold Weather Warning is now in force.The Hong Kong Observatory is forecasting cold weather in Hong Kong today.

People are advised to put on warm clothes and to avoid adverse health effects due to the cold weather. You must also ensure adequate indoor ventilation.

If you must go out, please avoid prolonged exposure to wintry winds.

If you know of elderly persons or persons with chronic medical conditions staying alone, please call or visit them occasionally to check if they need any assistance.

Make sure heaters are safe before use, and place them away from any combustibles. Do not light fires indoors as a means to keep warm.

Whatever the temperature, please ensure that there is plenty of fresh air in your room when you are using an old-type gas water heater.

Dispatched by Hong Kong Observatory at 06:00 HKT on 16.12.2009

LOVE IT LOVE THEM.

I HATE THE COLD !!!!

xo

(above: carys and sela before rugby practise on saturday)

do they know it’s Christmastime?

today charles was preaching at another church, so i took the kids to church. the choir sang "cantata" from handel's messiah and it never fails to amaze me how a relatively small church such as Union can produce such talent. we are so blessed.

i taught sunday school, and instead of my usual 13 kids, only seven showed up. this was a big change for me. pastor marybeth and i reckoned that mummies and daddies were having a little lie-in, and i am glad i don't teach 11am sunday school because those classes were likely packed.

after sunday school i stayed behind to clean up my class. we had been making a crafts project that involved glue, and naturally, a lot of glue was on the table and i wanted to get the table cleaned so it wasn't sticky for the next class. this took a bit of time, but i knew my girls were next door, finishing up their crafts project.

right?

until they weren't.

terri was greeting, so when i couldn't find my girls i knew that they hadn't roamed down the stairs and to the busy street, because terri wouldn't have let them out unless they were with an adult. so that was a bit of a consolation. so where were they? normally i didn't have to look further than the biscuits and lemonade tables to find the kids…why was today different?

why why why?

where where where?

finally i collared carys. she looked sufficiently subdued and quite guilty that i couldn't find her.

where's your sister? i asked, knowing they had likely been together.

she shrugged and looked vague, and shifted her attention to the sweeties she was holding.

it was 11.30, the second service was in full swing. i couldn't scream out fishwife style for sela, but suddenly i saw my daughter dashing through a corridor.

sela i trilled, a defiant smile on my face.

sela caldwell!

she ran in another direction.

i grimly said to carys. let's go.

we trotted after carys, trying not to interrupt the u-cafe. because the sanctuary is so full, the service is broadcast into the fellowship hall, where they hold live music and serve coffee and is a great family type service.

in the kitchen, i didn't see sela, but i found grant and i knew i was getting closer to solving the mystery.

grant was sopping wet and naked from the waist down. his father was with him.

"are you looking for sela?" he asked me

yes, i replied. i reckon she has something to do with this?

well, indirectly. they were in the baptismal tank, dale enlightened me. and of course there is a baptism today, which is why the tank is full….

well there you go.

of course, the baptismal tank is in full view of half the church, so i think a good portion of the church was distracted by the kids today.

i found sela, very repentant and dry "grant was the leader mummy" a few minutes later. she was clearly hiding and was not about to reveal where she had been. when i told her i knew about grant, she gave me that look to say, "oh, you knew about that? funny business, that…" but i quickly told her i was not impressed. next week they aren't going to be able to race around and stuff biscuits into their mouths while i clean up my room…they're going to have to sit in my room and wait with me. for the next two weeks i think.

trust five year olds to find the full tank and just decide to test the waters! this could have gone so very very wrong. i am so grateful they were safe.

december, full swing full stop

i do love december. there are a lot of fun things happening this month.

admittedly, my four little kennedy stars, though thrilled to see mummy wading in the front door surrounded by bags, are less thrilled when mummy turns round and heads out the door later on that night.

every night around dinner time sebastian will ask in a plaintive tone, "are you going out tonight mummy?" and i will respond, "yes". (some nights i answer no. some nights, like last night, i come home so late he doesn't get to ask the question!)

if i answer yes, his serious little face gets even more so, and he tells me without whinges or ado, "i like it better when you are home and we are all together mummy. it is so cosy when we are a family."

the other three could take lessons from him in the no whinging department, letmetellyou.

however, that's neither here or there.

i tried testing him on the "mummy staying home theory" and said, "sebastian, if i were at home, we could do maths together!" and he smiled and said, "allright, but not all night, mummy."

i do get, well, a cosy, feeling knowing that my kids know when i am in the house and that they care if i am in the flat. on monday i was at bootcamp (why i will never understand, i am still a person of massive proportions), and i came home and showered very quietly afterwards and set about doing some work.

i didn't realise how quiet i had been until around 9.00pm gary knocked on my door and said, "sebastian is crying….he thinks you aren't home yet". i got up, and went into the back area, where sebastian had gone to fetch gary, to announce that his mummy had gotten lost in the storm and could gary please go find me. gary did just that, took 20 steps to my room.

i went to find my little man, who was red eyed and red faced. i picked him up, oh he's so much larger than he used to be, and i carried him to bed. and i thanked him for staying up to make sure i got home safely and i told him how loved he made me feel. (and he does). we prayed and he reiterated that he doesn't like me going out so much at night. or working so much on my computer.

but i do love december. i love the events, seeing old friends, listening and sharing. the food, the music, the stories.

i do need to simplify my life, and i am happy to say that in a few months i can.

but for now, i will pacify my dear son with the reminders that quite a few of the nights out are with him, and they are special nights indeed. that cheers him up considerably.

ps – i am also clever – instead of going out for bookclub tomorrow night, i am having my group over for dinner. that doesn't count as a night out, therefore, does it??

eight, 10 and 12 years of love

just as sex and the city was meant to be about two loves: men and new york city – today's post is going to be about two of my men and hong kong. (left: kids in wanchai market on sunday night… shopkeeper watches from inside.)

my alarm woke me up this morning at 5.30. charles encouraged me to stay in bed. it had been a late night and we have so much to talk about, which is such a good thing. i turned off the alarm, went and did a wee, and went back to bed. ten minutes later, my alarm chirped out its reminder: 5.40 run – pfl. i got out of bed, drank a 880 mls of water, got dressed and headed out the door.

i was late getting out, and i had a lot to do before 8am, so i knew it had to be a short run.

so – i set out at 5.45. slow slow slow. but steady. and i looked at my watch right before i left the flat and realised, eight years ago i was lying in bed, appalled with myself because i thought i had peed the bed. the baby wasn;t due for two weeks – of course i wasn't in labour!

i kept running. it was still dark. and so very quiet. only a few people keeping each other company this morning. i got to the top of the peak. realised i was just meters away from where we called my mum all those years ago…

"we're on our way to the hospital"

"but why?"

"sebastian's coming"

and i kept running.

remembering walking down the hill i had just finished climbing with my tiny boy strapped to my throbbing chest. (for some reason charles and i decided to walk 4km home from the hospital). all those years ago. (left: sebastian holds his bag of birthday presents, wrapped and presented to him entirely in re-usable cloth shopping bags… it's what he would have wanted!)

i ran along harlech road which gives a magnificent view of the hong kong skyline. how i have loved this city. i fell in love here. i was a smitten adult, a newlywed, a new mother, a woman faced with the potential death of three of her children here. on this soil my kids took their steps, had their shoes shined, their hair stroked for good luck. recognised me. my husband and i recognised God. my husband proposed on these shores. i have loved this city for 12 long years. i have only known marriage and motherhood here. how could i not love hong kong, for all the joy and emotions i have experienced here? (left: celebrating sebastian's birthday at home.)

i kept running. small quick steps. flat. looked down at wanchai below and smiled. (left: triplets waiting for seb to open his presents; playing with the speed stackers.)

yesterday afternoon sandi and cliff came to visit. after they left, we decided to go to wanchai to browse through the markets. this is not the sort of thing that charles normally does. but he agreed, and what a wonderful time we had. each child got to select one Christmas ornament, and we also picked up some Christmas presents on the sly. the shops were chockers with ornaments, all fantastically priced!(below: one of the christmas stores in the wanchai market… crazy packed and busy!)

we also managed to nab a couple of tops for the boys. we walked through wet markets, and the kids were fascinated as they watched the fish flopping about. sebastian was close to tears as he watched a fish flop around in 1cm of water and then eventually and inevitably stop….asking "why did they take it out of the water? why did it have to die?" and the girls were disgusted with the valves in a freshly dissected fish body that were still pumping. (left: the fish market. seb sports his new "panama" from cliff & sandi!)

it was wonderful. i love them, i love this world they can experience.

happy birthday sebastian.

happy belated 10th anniversary charles, and happy belated 12 anniversary hong kong. you three have changed me and taught me so much. i will never get bored of you.

endurance

i was able to witness something spectacular this weekend.

every year hong kong hosts the oxfam trailwalker. the event is held annually on the MacLehose Trail, a 100 km hiking trail across the mountain ranges of the New Territories.

Oxfam Trailwalker Hong Kong is the first Trailwalker in the world.
Other countries like UK, Australia and New Zealand follow the Hong Kong
model closely. Since 1986, more than 42,000 Trailwalkers have raised
over HK$ 158 million to support Oxfam's various poverty alleviation and
emergency relief projects. The event was formerly a military drill for
Gurkha soldiers before 1986. Trailwalker was opened to the public in
1986. Oxfam Hong Kong began to co-organise the event in the same year.
As the Gurkhas left the territory, Oxfam Hong Kong enlisted the support
of many community organisations to sponsor the event. (from left: tess, tara and susan from the support team. thanks, tara, for the photo!)

the team members walk up mountains, over narrow bridges, through rainforests and on unprotected hills, during the day and for most teams, throughout the long night.

they battle rain, wind, physical and mental fatigue. and injuries. the desire to keep up to the team verses the need not to push themselves too hard.

this year, tara's husband was on team "my knees hurt". he has been training hard for the past few months, long runs of 30 to 50 kms on saturdays, "shorter" runs during the week. his teammates were working just as hard. tara was fielding the support team. i have done support stints in the past, and offered to help out. susan (no surprise) offered to support as well (and to run a section with the team!) and so the three of us were off.

tara organised everything divinely. all i had to do was pack a pillow and blanket for the car, and anyone who knows me, knows i certainly did pack warm clothes.

we did a test drive two days before the run, so we knew what we were in for.

on the day of the run, we carried a cooler ( except aussies call them 'eskies'…wonder why??) filled with pocari sweat and gatorade to the car, a massive thermos filled with tuna pasta, two more thermoses filled with soup. four, 8l containers of water, the runner's bags, duvets to keep the runners warm during their food stops, medicine kits. chocolate. gummy bears.

and we were off. the first stop, it was around 3.30pm and the runners were about 40 kilometres in. they were pretty optimistic, but chilled. it was a cold day. they sank into the pasta. andrew did a lot of stretching. they stayed with us no more than 25 minutes and then they were off.

the next stop was later…around 8pm. the sun had set. the monkeys were screeching around us, you could hear wild boars squealing in the distance.

our support team was a bit different than some of the other teams. we cheered on every single runner and team that passed us. how could you not? these runners were working so hard, raising money for a great charity, pushing their bodies to incredible limits, how could you not applaud their efforts? how could you not clap and tell them, "looking strong! keep going! well done!! all right!" there were a lot of people who only cheered on "their" team. not us.

we set up carefully, and had the duvets ready. when they appeared, they were walking carefully. there were injuries, and one runner spent more time stretching than eating. lots of time spent digging around the medicine kit this stop. one runner was not really talking, he was on auto pilot. food. more pasta. i''l try the soup. my leg hurts, yes, that's better. yes. of the four runners, we were most concerned about him.

there was a fifth runner at this point. a friend of andrew's who is a pilot (and runner) had flown in from new york the day before (he is hk based) and decided he would support the team by running 20 kilometres with them.he started at the 3pm checkpoint, and then by 8pm decided he was feeling so well he would continue for the next 20 kilometres. amazing mental toughness.

the next stop was around 1am. during this time we tried to sleep in car after arriving at our destination, but it was tough given how cold it was. the boys texted us with the information that we were NOT to set up a nice looking picnic site like last time, they just wanted to eat, refresh their water and walk away. i could see their point. it was bitterly cold and no one wanted to risk their muscles cramping. they had 19 kilometres to go.

there was a real difference in their attitudes at this checkstop. conversation was minimal. it was a 10 minute stop and most of the time was spent tending to injuries. i rubbed a thigh muscle and loosened it up until my fingers cramped. very little food besides chocolate was eaten. their focus was finishing. there was less than 20 kilometres to go and they knew it was going to be tough and they knew it was going to take them about four hours to finish, but they knew they were going to finish it together, which is a heck of an accomplishment.

at around 3.45am, at the final checkstop, we got a call. they were only 45 minutes from the finish line. adrenalin had kicked in…they were running. after how many hours…they were running.

how amazing. at this point, they had been on the road for almost 19 hours. going without a break.

we raced to the finish line, and at 4.28, we saw four headlights piercing through the darkness. tara started screaming. and they kept running. joining hands they ran towards the finish. they didn't leave their tiredness and injuries behind, but the took it with them, carried it over the line. that fatigue was part of the journey, as was their perseverance and strength. the pilot friend of andrew's? he ended up running 70 kilometres instead of the original 20. incredible mental toughness.

it was amazing to witness. the human body, the power of the mind to keep going in darkness, when pain and tiredness tells you it's really time to stop. when checkpoints give you every opportunity to indeed, end the misery. but they kept going. this year, there were 3,420 participants who completed the 100-km trail within the required 48 hours, or 84.7% of all walkers.

it was amazing to be part of it.