Sickness and the Selfish Daddy

I can't decide which I prefer:
1) I'm healthy but my kid has a cold, which inevitably becomes:
2) We both have a cold, which then becomes:
3) My kid is healthy but I still have a cold.

I may selfishly prefer stage 1, because I like being healthy and because it's a lot easier to care for a kid when you don't feel like you're living on a carnival ride.

But in stage 2 we kind of had this camaraderie through commiseration thing going on.

I think stage 3 is just around the corner, and it's not going to be pretty.

Just to be fair, April hasn't been out of the picture all this time. She's been doing a lot these days, but she is still healing and shouldn't be the one having to care for all of us right now. (Anyone remember the last few days of when we had our foster baby and April ended up caring for the baby AND me because I got dysentery?)

Also, Cosi has now learned to say "tissue," "wipe," "orange juice," and "blech" (blech is the sound I make when I feel sick). She's also thrilled that she gets to wash her hands a lot these days. Seriously, this girl would be happy if life consisted of nothing more than washing her hands, brushing her teeth, sweeping, mopping and vacuuming the floor, and taking a bath, plus the occasional trip outside.

Thanksgiving Weekend Recap

Thanksgiving weekend is always a little different here. Last year both of us were sick, so we stayed at home and ate the most American meal we could find in our fridge- hot dogs and baked beans.

It's strange when holiday traffic is the same traffic you face every day (frightening in it's own way- we'll write about that another entry), when Black Friday is just another Friday, and you need to work your turkey cooking schedule around your classes.

This year, we joined some friends for a traditional turkey dinner that was truly something to be thankful for. Dinner was followed by games of "heads up seven up" and "apples to apples", since the traditional football games wouldn't be on until after midnight (and even then they wouldn't be aired here).

Friday was a busy work day, Saturday was mildly restful, then on Sunday we went back to the orphanage. Rob left his guitar at home this time, but singing a capella was just as fun. We had twice as many volunteers than we expected (which was great!). When we arrived, we had a chance to do a personal interview with the director of the orphanage- learning that one of the girls from last time, an 11-year-old who had never spoken a word, started singing a few weeks ago! When we showed up, she sang for us some of the songs we had taught them last month!

The last hour of our time was a lesson in humility and servanthood. We put ourselves at the orphanage's disposal to do whatever work they needed. So a few of us ended up outside digging rocks out of a path that they hoped to one day pave. There was some grumbling about whether or not this was the best way to complete the task and some questions as to whether or not we should just give them the money to hire someone to do a professional paving job, but in the end, we learned to quietly submit ourselves to those whom we were serving. Sometimes serving others only works when it's on their terms, not ours.

All in all, a great holiday weekend (despite Rob's swine cold), but I do wish it would have ended with a Steelers victory in Baltimore.

Thanksgiving

Perhaps I (Rob) was a bit hasty (and negative) in my venting about the weather. This week has been a beautiful autumn week- cool but not cold, sunny, crisp...
So of course I got sick, Maybe I got that "Swine Cold" April was talking about. April, for her part, is in class this Thanksgiving Day, because there's no such holiday in East Asia!

So I'm trying to learn thankfulness. I'm realizing that default mode for me is to only be driven to thankfulness when I am in want. When something is lacking, I realize that I shouldn't take for granted what I do have. Even that phrase, 'take for granted' speaks a lot to me. I take for granted, that is, I assume will always be the case, that I have food, general health, friends, shelter, etc. I never envision a world where I lack these things.

True thankfulness sees even the 'givens' as gifts. Ironically, we call them "givens" and mean that we ought to have them. We are entitled to them. But the word "given" even points to the gift, and the gift points to the Giver.

So Happy Thanksgiving! We hope you are able to celebrate in a warm home, with a full plate of food, surrounded by loved ones. Good gifts all around.

Why I'm Glad, not Mad (a domestic update from Rob)

Warning- this story has a lot of background and little point, but it does give a good snapshot of the mundane aspects of our daily life.

A few weeks ago, I read an article online about 'creative uses for household items'. It suggested using old tissue boxes to hold plastic bags you intend to re-use. Since our city banned the free distribution of plastic bags at grocery stores, the stores now charge for bags, so we use cloth bags and hoard our plastic bags for later use. As a result, that frightening under-the-sink kitchen cabinet (you know what I'm talking about) is packed full of various bags, cleaners, and always a few surprises. So when I read about the great idea of storing plastic bags in old Kleenex boxes, I eagerly awaited the day when we finished off one our our boxes of tissue.

Then April got a cold. She claims she has the "Swine Cold."

This morning, when the first (and later second) box went empty, I cleared out the cabinet and stuffed plastic bags into tissue boxes. So far, I love it. But here's what made me really happy:

East Asia trash bags are frustratingly thin. In all my years here, I've never pulled a trash bag out of the can without it tearing in some way. Sometimes it rips completely open. I've taken to double-bagging in the can. During our trip to the States this past spring, we brought back some wonderfully thick trash bags, which we used up after a few months. Or so we thought...

This morning I discovered a whole new stash of unused American trash bags. I'm so happy :) Now we have a better way to get rid of all those used tissues...