our trip to the philippines backfired a bit.

the kids loved it. had a great time. made friends immediately (of course they were objects of interest to the slum kids, they were visitors, they would be giving away their clothes at the end of the day, they were from a different world those kids will ever know). for sebastian, he could run, either with other kids or by himself over dirt and other i don't want to think too carefully of what covered hills, racing long distances. there were rickety bridges. doggies. people smiling at them. they got to help, and when they wanted, they got to stop and play with their friends.

and at the end of the day, they got to leave the filth, and shower it off with the aveeno shampoo we had brought along, and sleep in an airconditioned room with lovely sheets and a flush toilet. after eating dinner where they could leave food on their plates if they were no longer hungry.

but it was a start. sebastian gets it. but he also loves the freedom and the running and the space and the wild. the triplets didn't really get that the slums we were rebuilding are the homes where their new friends live at the end of the day.

one of the saddest things i remember seeing this long weekend was at the tuberculosis recovery shelter. there was a big sign on the wall that read, VISITORS MAY NOT EAT THE PATIENT'S MEALS.

a couple of patients gave their testimonies, told how they had gained 7kg in 10 weeks, mainly because they were eating three square meals for the first time in their lives. can you imagine, when their families come to visit, how tempting it would be to share your food with them, knowing they hadn't eaten that morning, knowing how much they need the food, knowing what it is like to have the dull gnawing ache of hunger in your stomach. and how the visitors must wonder if a missing meal, or even half a meal, would make such a difference to their relative's recovery. oh the guilt those patients must feel when their relatives must come to visit.

it was a great trip.

briefly, here are the highlights:

1) visiting our preschool. the kids sang and danced for us. we gave them tinned beef, a new pair of shoes each, knickers, pencils, sweeties, and many school supplies to the teacher.

Christmas 2008 our family was meant to go to Queensland for Christmas, to stay on the Gold Coast. We decided to sponsor the preschool instead. We didn't have the money to do both. We decided that giving the children a chance for an education was more important than the trip. I was very very sad that we didn't go to Australia for that family trip. Seeing our preschool, seeing those children made it worth it. I am so glad we made the choice we did. We prayed for them, and the kids prayed as well.

2) taking pictures. we brought our "polaroid" type camera and took instant pictures. so many mothers didn't have pictures of their children, or of themselves and their children. seeing their faces as the images began to appear was wonderful. charles deserves all the credit for coming up with the idea of taking the cameras.

3) packing. six days before i left for the trip, i sent 12 people an email, letting them know that most girls do not wear knickers, because they can't afford them. my friend meg succinctly said, "it's bad enough when women who have knickers choose not to wear them…but it's a tragedy when girls don't wear them because they cant afford them." i asked people to donate knickers their children had grown out of, or clothes, or toothbrushes, etc.

i ended up with six full suitcases, large suitcases, full of shoes, clothes, over 500 pair of knickers and toothbrushes, pencils, teaching supplies, corned beef, socks and other such times. remarkably, the majority of the knickers were brand new. people went out and bought beautiful brand new knickers for the girls and boys. it was overwhelming. i have learned people want to help, they just need to know how. i am so grateful i know of a fantastic charity that can take their old clothes, or where they can donate funds, no matter how small.

seeing the ladies at the ICM head office in the philippines as we brought the full suitcases in was wonderful. they were full of such joy as they planned what items would go to which province or program.

it was a great trip.

i want to go again. soon.

A video of Sebastian's June ICM trip can be found at Charles' blog.

this cut n paste post was inspired by recent canadian temperatures…

dear home and native land….LOVE YOU… True Canadians….

695-t’ree t’ree t’ree t’ree
(695-3333)

It’s time to reflect on what a truly Canadian
winter is all about:
 

WINTER POEM
It’s winter in Canada!
And the gentle breezes blow
Seventy miles an hour
At thirty-five below.
Oh, how I love Canada
When the snow’s up to your butt
You take a breath of winter
And your nose gets frozen shut.
Yes, the weather here is
wonderful
So I guess I’ll hang around
I could never leave Canada  
I’m frozen to the friggin’ ground

terrible tess turns sensible sue?

after a two week self imposed break from running, on monday my alarm rang at 5.30am.

sunday night i had slept fitfully. my body was waiting for the alarm, just as it has for the last 14 days. and when the iphone "marimba" squeaked out it's first few notes, i was ready.

i quickly got dressed, drank 880mls of water, and left the house.

it was a headphones free morning.

i also walked the first ten minutes. normally i have been jogging to the reservoir taking the famed "short cut" behind our place, to middleton and then to the reservoir…but it is so dark. my knees are banjaxed and i have been stopping and starting and all that jolting can't be good for them. soooo, i decided to walk. very mature.

i also decided instead of jumping back into the running world, i would take it slow. and straight. no downhills, or at least as few as possible. monday's run would be UNDER 10k i promised myself.

i reached the reservoir and started the run. i wasn't the first person, there were the usual suspects, and it was fantastic. i started up the hill towards the peak, intending to cut off and take the morning path, but i realised this was a good run and i didn't want to stop. so i kept going, up to the peak. i am an ineffective uphill runner, tip tap tip tap on my toes, but i was getting the job done. and i was just so grateful to be out.

about 35 minute after i left my flat, i was at the top of the peak. and then it was a nice flat run. the day was pretty overcast, but it was still a great morning. i left lugard road and headed down to highwest lookout, where a man sat playing the lute. i walked down the steps (around 150?) and then being sensible, turned right, ran for 8 more minutes, then walked down 260 more steps, then ran 800 metres and then walked 400 metres home.

that was my run. it was slow. oh yes indeed, that 8 k took me an hour, but at the end, my knees weren't burning and i was delighted.

and, i took today off. i woke up at 5.30 this morning like i seem to all the time, and i just turned over and enjoyed the sleep.

i'll go tomorrow though. and i think i will do a 11km. but i will walk the downhill 800 km, promise. it is peel rise, and only gets 3.5 difficulty out of 5.

really grateful to be back in the game.

i tried to get knee braces, but as the saleslady prophesized, "too fat!!"

yes, that's what i get for shopping local. a complex and too small knee braces.

I’m going to learn how to fly (HIGH!)

last night i had to make a tough decision.

charles was out at maryknoll, at the walk to emmaus.

i had made plans to go to ursula's, to eat a fantastic curry dinner and watch FAME (the original one, not the cheesy remake, thank you very much, ursula is a woman of taste, tyvm) with some fun folk. it was shaping up to be a divine evening. 80's music, 80's clothes, 80's hair, fab women and curry….doesn't this seem divine to you??

around 2pm i realised that charles really wanted me there for the saturday night mass, and for a blessing from father tom.

fame or religion?

religion or fame?

religion and the desire to obey my husband, or at least to be there on an important night for him, won out.

the need to be with the community. to come again to the chapel, for reconciliation, communion, passing of the peace, reaffirmation.

i called ursula and explained. apologised profusely.

went to maryknoll.

the service was amazing. we had a beautiful prayer time. there are so many people in the community who have suffered loss recently, or who are coming up to an anniversary of a loss. we prayed for the farrells. today marks one year since megan farrell died. we prayed for those among us and for friends, too many, who have recently been diagnosed with cancer. for healing, for peace, for wisdom and compassion for the physicians. i have been so physically busy these days, i have not spent enough time talking with God, praising Him for His goodness, storming the gates of heaven with requests. and there are so many praises and requests, even within my family and close friends!

and then communion itself. 

"i have prepared a feast for you!"

i received the blessing first, and then communion. and as i dipped my communion wafer into the wine, where the priest said, "Christ's blood, shed for you," and then looked up, saw my face and said, "for Tess!" in a joyful voice. 

for tess.

for me.

it's not just for the people suffering from poverty, those suffering under the black oily weight of depression or addiction, it's for the everyday people too.

i was sorry to miss fame, but you know what?

i'm going to live forever!

skies, shoes, speed and snakes

although the BBQ is over at kennedy school, i have spent many hours at the school this week cleaning up, putting back and restoring things to their natural order. i am 'on site' a fair amount.

however, where was i yesterday when jasper had an asthma attack?

oh, i was on the bus headed to wanchai. unable to hear a thing the nurse was saying.

you get the gist of it though.

i wasn't at kennedy not because all the work is done (always work to be done!) but because our building trip to the philippines is next week and charles and i want to buy a pair of shoes for every kid in the preschool we sponsor. so i have been trawling the streets looking for mock crocs. if i can find 30 pair of mock crocs, for five year olds, i will be one happy girl.

so far, we are batting zero for 30. do you think i could find one pair yesterday? NOT SO MUCH. i am a little disenchanted. i don't want to get the kids flip flops. so i am praying that today i will stumble upon an area selling mocks.

stumbling is something i am getting quite good at. i haven't been able to run for two weeks now, because my knees are burning. this is a BAD BAD sign. means too much too soon. i was doing so well, and now this. but it will be okay. i have stopped running altogether. not even distance walking. i might take up yoga in a couple of weeks.

i do need to be speedy for bootcamp though. we have bootcamp at stanley ho sportscentre and a few weeks ago an early morning runner snapped a photo of a new member of stanley ho, who i have no desire to run into any time. just look at that little lovey. i might not be able to find crocs, but if i encountered him.. i could start my own brand of shoes – "snakes". yuk.

greenbacks and green art – gone to great homes

the halloween bbq is over. it was a massive success. people were really happy with their purchases, the evening went smoothly and we raised a shedload of money.

the stairclimb is over. we let hong chi know we are a proud supporter, and we helped raise awareness and funds for their organisation.

and yesterday, the day after the rugby tournament (where sela and jasper scored tries!!! yes they did!), was the icm banquet.

i got there around 11am and stuffed inserts into programs. it was interesting seeing my words come to life on the program and i just trusted that God prevented any errors from creeping in! we prayed for the success of the evening, and then we took the programs, the annual report, and another insert, and we put one on every single place at those 52 tables. this took well over an hour. and then we began unwrapping auction gifts. and then there was a slight emergency and so i had to make a small trip up to the business centre. you know, typical stuff that ALWAYS happens.

getting ready. a long velvet embroidered jacket, magenta silk shirt, black skirt. 

and that was it.

the evening was a massive success.

and i fell in lust.

i didn't have time to fall in love. but now, i have all the time in the world, because charles and i are the PROUD owners of two new pieces of mixed media assemblage artwork by stella tansengco-schapero. they are green.

anyone who knows me will be very surprised at the green bit. growing up with a birthday on st patricks day gave relatives a great excuse to dress me in green at all times. i was a shamrock with a dorothy hamill haircut for far too many years. so i tend to avoid green. however. this artwork grabbed me. i bid against charles' colleague for it for goodness sake! i will get you a picture.

the trip to the versace show sold at a great price, there was great competition for the arsenal vs manchester u game (business class tix!), the all inclusive india trip, the luxury seven bedroom home in phuket…all great prices and good fun.

loads of people stepped up for the medical programs, to support kindergartens (we saw photos of our kindergarten!) and then all guests were treated to watch two minutes of this 2006 winner from the berlin film festival. i invite you to take six minutes and watch this. six minutes is all. you can fast forward the first 90 seconds if you wish.

and the hands to transform a community by buying rice for them, came up fast and furious.

ICM raised HK$7million for the impoverished last night.

someone who reads my blog agreed that while i do like to suggest alternative ways things could be done, i also volunteer because i like to give hope. there is a difference between volunteering at your child's school and volunteering for a charity aiming to help people rise out of poverty. everyone who attended last night, whether by buying a bottle of wine, or by sponsoring rice for a village, gave hope last night and it was amazing to be in the room.

HK$7 million. 

thank you everyone.

please watch the video!

why volunteer?

a while ago tertia blogged on WHY SHE VOLUNTEERS. this got me thinking.

as a stay at home mum who is rarely at home, i volunteer a lot. often i am asked, oftener than not, i volunteer to volunteer.

why?

there are several reasons i volunteer, a few not so attractive so i will get those out of the way first.

1. just like voting…the way i see things is, if you don't contribute, you can't complain. and goodness knows i do like…observing alternate ways things could be done. if i volunteer, i am helping things get better.

2. to know the organisation better

how unattractive is THAT?

yesterday, i spent the entire day at school getting ready for friday's halloween bbq. today i was there for four hours, doing the same. tomorrow, i will be washing dishes (volunteer) from 7.30-9.30am, and then will head to the school and do more preparations. i reckon i will get home by 10.30pm. saturday, am washing dishes again, then at noon i go and register for a volunteer stair climbing fundraiser, and then there is a halloween pizza party i am helping to organise to get the kids ready for. (i am trying to shag the guilts…friday i won't be around to help the kids get all dolled up in their halloween costumes….wah wah wah…what a bad mum). sunday i am shrugging off one of my weekly volunteer duties – teaching sunday school, so that i can attend the first rugby tourney of the year. (YAY KIDS!) and monday, i have most of the morning off (groceries??) and then i head to the jw marriott in order to help ICM set up for their annual banquet. this is very exciting for me because this year i have been quite involved in helping ICM.

this is not a typical volunteer week for me, but it has made me think why i volunteer so much. yesterday, a friend said, "because we know like with most things that 'if you want something done, ask a busy woman'. we know you can.'

by NO means am i the only person who volunteers. i am among the 10 per cent.

also, as a stay at home mum who works contract, i can be flexible with my working hours, so i do have the time. i don't have the money to shop at vuitton EVERY day, so why not volunteer? the need is so very clearly there.

let's face it, someone has to do it. usually, the person who asks me to help, or who is spearheading the entire thing, needs a hand. i know how wonderful it is when assistance is offered. how great to ease a burden. and i can. so why not?

i also know the difference it makes. through the kindergarten we sponsor, i know the difference financial donations can make. i also know the difference it makes to put in the hours and organise fairs, tombolas, book stalls, a small part of a banquet fundraiser. talents and time are just as valuable as cash, and in hong kong, they are rarer.

although my less than attractive reasons for volunteering do exist the truth is i do it because i want to. i don't get a great glow from volunteering (the spots on my chin will verify this fact if you want to take the previous sentence literally), but i do get satisfaction in helping to make a difference. and there is no reason not to.

kind of a boring post.

take me home

when i was 15 or so i fell in love with phil collins' "no jacket required".

i liked all the songs, but it wasn't until i saw the video for the last song on the album, take me home, that i knew i had to own the tape.

the video, i remember it still. it had phil visiting places all over the world. the sydney opera house, a crowded street in japan, graceland, new york city, london, paris and a few more.

and eventually he finds his way home.

i remember seeing those sights on the telly, and the concept of ever BEING there, seemed so impossible. certainly a rock star could travel around the world and make a video there, but could i ever get there? to those locations?

and i started to ask myself, "why not".

i certainly don't consider myself a world traveller — but i so remember yearning to see those places, to explore, to try a new country. and the joy of coming home.

today is a public holiday. i woke up with the kids, and we had breakfast and did a craft and read 25 pages of james and the giant peach all before 9am. the girls read their home readers. then crunch time started;

what was i going to do with them for the rest of the day?

i called my friend laurel, mother of danielle.

we decided to check, JUST IN CASE there was a good movie (that would be a kids movie) playing. and there was. garfield 3-d i believe was the name, and it was 100 minutes (barely) of quizzical storyline and, ah yes, silence!

love garfield!

afterwards we walked to wanchai where i bought danielle a birthday present (a strawberry shortcake house…and i have to keep it on the balcony because it smells so strongly of faux strawberries but i am sure laurel won't notice) and the kids got a treat. barbie earrings for the girls and lego stuff for the boys. calling out to seb to hurry up and follow, we headed back to queens road east to get the bus.

there was an oktoberfest band playing (for some reason oktoberfest really is celebrated in october here) and we had danced a bit on our way to the markets as they played the more traditional bavarian songs, but on the way back, they really made me listen, because they were belting out the john denver classic, "take me home, country roads".

the audience was singing along, and several filipinos were dancing as well. the triplets got into the act as well. as i waited for seb to reach us we stood and took it all in. the band was loving it. i remember this song, i remember mrs owen had it on 8 track and she used to play it. and as i swirled the girls around we sang, "take me home, country roads, to the place, i belong!"

and right then, i had that great feeling. sun shining, kids dancing, people smiling happy. and despite missing our families ALOT right now, right then we belonged in hong kong and it was right.

then sebbie tapped me on the hip. "mummy. i am double desperate for a wee."

i know DESPERATE for a wee, and i know really desperate and his eyes were not happy. i quickly and reluctantly turned off that happy place of just being, and went into just making everything allright.

first: establish the timelines.

sebastian, do you want to do a wee here?

it might be more than a wee. my tummy hurts.

do you want to do it here

no, i just want to go home. take me home, mummy.

can you make it by bus? (all the kids had wanted to take the double decker home).

no. taxi.

load the kids into the taxi. explain to the others why we're in a taxi not on a bus. ask them to have compassion for their clearly suffering brother. we prayed for him. that we get home quickly and boy, did we. only one red light. amazing answer to prayer!

and we got home, and seb ran to the back of the building where there is a drain and did a wee. the rest of team caldwell followed, and i have to say, it was a massive wee. went on for ages. then seb decided that he needed to use the toilet, quickly, and we hustled upstairs.

home.

where i made two lego figures (a tank and spaceship), and held little seb, who just isn't so little anymore.

there is no feeling in the world like coming home. whether you've been away for days or an hour, we are so blessed to have a home, a palace, a refuge. somewhere we can be ill, lay down our bundles of shopping and turn on the kettle, somewhere that we and love have built.

meeting the mouse

we have begun laying plans for the kids to meet the mouse.

believe it or not, disneyland has been open for four years and we still haven't been. there were various reasons for this…but the time has come for us to enter the happiest place on earth.

we are going to stay the night.

we have booked the hotel and have not told the kids. 

we will pretty soon, because we will get a lot of mileage out of this one! i THINK we are going to buy annual passes, and use them as Christmas presents as well. who knows. we'll see.

in the meantime, all is well here. the kids have each asked me in the last 24 hours if there is any way that they can be around snow, just for the snowman and snow angel aspect. i tried to explain the less than savoury aspects of snow, the boots, the gear and the time it takes to get into it all and the puddles in the front hallway…but all i got in return was,

"i don't want to live and walk in the snow mummy, i just want to make a snow angel and a snowman. i will only need a carrot from the refrigerator for the nose."

so i guess that is another item i need to get to.

right now the flat is divided according to gender…the boys are all out at rugby and the ladies are here. the girls are singing the theme to STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE while they are getting dressed (hopefully getting dressed) and in a few minutes we will be out the door to church. this weather is tough on jasper – it is getting a bit polluted.

yesterday was family rugby and it was a good day for team caldwell…sela scored a try and sebastian scored two tries. this really bodes well. carys was very happy having a three way conversation with danielle and ella, while jasper did some good tackling. very happy.

after church, the two sides of the family will meet and then i think we are hiking today! charles is off to london tonight so it will be nice for a family activity. 

who are you kids and where are my children?

the other day i received a text from my good friend weng. it read, "MY SON JUST GOT HIS FIRST KISS FROM YR DGHTR!!!!"

some texts should have special coloured fonts for them, and this was one of them.

dutifully i typed back, "Which girl? WHY?" (besides the fact that he is a v. nice boy).

but i KNEW who it was. ah yes, sela is a kissy girl.

SELA!

a little while later, the kissing booth walked into the flat, and gave me a cuddle. she didn't look any different although the faint discolouration around her mouth suggested that she had been eating orange flavoured crisps.

i beckoned sela over to me and asked if anything fun had happened on the playground. normally, little miss is more than happy to tell me her business and anyone else's, but she left the SMALL matter of being a kissy girl out of the story.

so of course, in the delicate and diplomatic way that has won me no friends or prizes i bulldozed in. "sela, did you kiss anyone on the playground today?" and she smiled and said, "yes! i kissed three times mummy, three times! one boy one time and another boy twice."

WHY? i inquired in my genteel modulated voice.

"it was a game, the older girls asked me if i wanted to play and i did. it was REALLY fun" she announced, her expressive eyebrows dancing up and down. "we're going to do it again tomorrow."

what to do?

as you remember, when sebastian started year two there were a lot of kids playing KISSY GIRL on the playground. sebastian used to play, a lot of boys did, and there was this one girl who was always rushing around to kiss the boys.

is this my child?

knowing the way the playground works, i know that though they may plan to play 'chase and kiss' tomorrow, they won't. something else will happen. someone will bring down a hockey stick, rollerblades, new match attax, and all will be forgotten. so, i will say nothing. you know, because i am so prudent and all.

and then carys, who didn't want to play kissy girls, came rushing to give me a hug after i returned from a run with janne the other day. MUMMY! she screamed. i gave her a cuddle and then pulled away. what was going on with my child and what had happened to her face?

she had vibrant peach eyeshadow scrawled over each lid. it was hideous. it was the thickest eyeliner i had ever seen in my life and i wondered where she had gotten it.

i asked my youngest born that very question and she rushed off to show me.

"here mummy! here is my beautiful makeup!" she giggled and PUT A THICK PEACH FELT TIP PEN IN MY HAND. no wonder you could see the scrawls on her eyelids!!

we tried makeup remover, chapstick…just about everything but the felt pen was there for a while. carys was thrilled and kissy girl sela felt "it's not fair! carys gets to wear makeup and i don't!"

it's day three of markerfest and carys still looks scrawled on.

the boys are good. sebastian keeps asking me questions…like, "why do you have to pay for a taxi at the end of your ride and you pay for a bus when you get on?"  i am not prepared for these questions, especially when i don't have the answers.

jasper is pretty easy right now. his time is coming.