It doesn't to be as much of an issue as I thought it might be, for the kids as well as me. For the first time in seven months, we all spent the night away from each other. Stuart went with his friend Zach up to Washington to celebrate his birthday. Audrey headed up to Vancouver to spend the time with her cousins (and my sister). I spent the weekend hanging out with my good friends Jaymee and Goolie. I made it a point to not call the kids to see how they were; I know that they can call me if there is a problem. No one called and we all had fun in our own ways, though we missed each other as well. We've become a different kind of family now. The kids are more independent, yet we have a deeper connection with each other than before.
Stuart was excited to show me his photos of the San Juan Islands and was amused that he has been through Seattle
three times in one week. We hadn't been for the two previous years, but now he's a frequent visitor. Too funny.
Audrey tried to share her love of crochet with her cousin, V., but she didn't attach to it in the way that Audrey has. So they found other things to do. She had a great time, she says, but was eager to be back with us.
I got to see a band play, ran into old friends, bummed around S.E. Portland (including the book store--ah, home!), then Saturday night had a bunch of friends over. I was pleasantly surprised to see what of my favoritest musician, Rick Bain, play in someone's backyard and later met up with friends I hadn't seen in nearly a year.
Then when it was time for the kids to come home, I was pleased to have them back. They are my comfort zone and with them I'm happy. I'm still fighting the sadness and find myself just sitting, staring into space and dreaming of Viet Nam. Then I yank myself back and remember how much I need to get done.
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I'm going to do the
Blogathon this year. It is on Saturday and it entails me posting every 30 minutes for 24 hours. Some of these posts are bound to get pretty silly, I'm sure, but it will be a good reason to work up some bits of writing and pictures to post. Your part is to sponsor my blog. I'll be blogging to raise funds for Children of Vietnam (COV), a non-profit that goes to central Viet Nam twice a year to bring necessities to the kids. I'll be trying to raise some funds for them, so
donate if you can.
I've been working on some local awareness raising and donation gathering and happy to say I'll be getting some clothing donated from a local company. Woohoo! I was hoping to be able to travel with COV when they go in September, but I don't see it being a realistic possibility, so I'll have to mail off the donations that I receive instead. Whatever. The kids will get it and that's what is important to me. I'll be looking for some quality blankets for them next, and then trying to find a shipper for them that won't charge me the price of an airline ticket to get them there.
always more to come...
Labels: culture shock, donate
They're not nearly as awful as people assume. They are just different. Remember to keep pocket packs of tissue since toilet paper is a rare commodity in some places (especially on the trains). Don't try to do any thigh-burning squats, just drop the booty down. The hose and sprayer scare people, as well, but if you learn to use them it will make life easier. Use the toilet paper only to dry. :) Often you must throw the used tissue into a trash can, so doing it this way keeps the smell down (sorry!). 
