3 kids. No Mom in China for a weekend.

Did I survive? Did the kids survive? Did mom come home to order, or the leftovers after a hurricane of an apartment?

Pam got the opportunity to go with a friend from the States to go for a couple days to Shanghai, China.

"Hey babe, why don't you go..." that is what I said to her, without really thinking through the consequences to that statement. 

She left Sat afternoon. She returned Monday Night... late.

Saturday- We waved goodby to mom. Then proceeded to launch into... No, it was not chaos, but rather, pointed, and directed, harnessed chaos.

Dinner, the kids wanted McDonalds, so DiDi here we come, and we hoped in the taxi, and a few minutes later (after getting yelled at in Chinese to stop hanging our heads out the window like dogs), we were at the mall. Amazingly, the kids now know the drill... look for 10,328 or so scooters, blasting by as you exit your taxi door, and play frogger, across the median, then the "bike lane", sidewalk, mall walk way, to the door of McDonalds (yes, they ride scooters through the mall).

Ordered our food, played cards, practiced our Chinese, gobbled up the food, and proceeded to the grocery store to pick up a few essentials"" for the weekend.

CEREAL!!

We each picked out our favorite cereal, and in the course of loading the cart, my big booty, knocked over an entire display of some kind of pre-packaged coffee cups... yep, all over the floor, the isle, and walkway. 

OOOOPPPSSSSS.... what seemed like an eternity later, of trying to re-stack them, we gave up. They were stacked in the most peculiar way, so... we found someone, did our best to apologize, and got in line to get out of there.

Back at the apartment, it was getting a bit later, but it was Saturday night and some Saturday nights, we will watch a movie as a family. Because Olivia and I just finished reading Matilda (Roald Dahl), so of course you have to watch the movie. Well in China, watching movies is not as easy as it is back in the states. Kind of dumb, but if your internet connection is strong, you can download a movie from the famous Apple Store... and 2-10 hours later you have your movie downloaded.

Something we are learning as a family is to be flex-able, and patient. WOW, are my kids learning, and taking it in strides. 

As the movie is downloading... the meeter read 3 hours till downloaded, the kids went to their rooms to read, write in their journals, draw, or just play with cars and trucks.

While they did that, I proceeded to find a package my wife ordered, that housed 3 brand new, "Camping Lights." These "camping lights" were much more than that, on the top of these lights is a dome that spins and throws kaleidoscope like, multi-colored lights allover the ceiling, they are really more like a dance party in a lantern for little kids, than "camping lights."

I set those up, turned them on, cranked up the track "Can't Stop the feeling!" from the Tolls movie sound track, and waited to see what would happen.

As soon as I turned on the music, the kids shot out their rooms, and just started to boogie. It was wonderful bliss, dancing with them, and boy did we get sweaty.

Time passed by fast, and the movie was about halfway downloaded, so we started it. (we don't have a T.V. but rather, a small pocket projector I connect to our iPad).

By the way, Danny Devito did a great job directing that movie... 1/2 way through the movie, it stoped, and the kids wanted to keep watching, but unfortunately, they were gonna have to wait (plus it was like 9pm by that time, and I was ready for bed).

The girls got themselves ready, I helped Calvin, and off to bed.

Sunday Morning-

6am - I was up, reading and drinking my coffee and eating my cereal, about 3 bowls

7:30am - Calvin was up, and we hung out, ate his cereal, and played

8:30am - Girls up, breakfast (they ate their cereal) and off to hang with friends

This day was uneventful, After we gathered with some friends on Sunday morning, Ella was off to a birthday party, I took the other two kids to a late lunch, after some time at the park, then back home for nap for Calvin, Liv cleaned her room, and I edited a video (Flesh Eating Fish in China, and hot spring fun with my daughter, link here).

4:30- Calvin up, Liv done cleaning, we played till 5:30pm

5:30-7 - we had some friends over to play some music, hang, eat dinner, and talk... Good Times!! Ella, Liv, and Cal played with the other kid and really did a good job (the other kid was only 18 months old, and they entertained her well).

7:00pm get ready for bed (They did amazing!!) WOW!! So good... so we watched the last bit of Matilda. But this time, no projector, we just cuddled up on the couch, and held the iPad mini.

Calvin loved it, he would giggle when Matilda used her brain powers, to teach the adults lessons. 

8:30pm - Bedtime and sleep fast.

I myself went strait to bed, I was out, tired, and wanted to be fresh for the rest of the week.

Monday Morning - 

5:00am - I am up, reading and drinking my coffee and eating my cereal, about 3 bowls, but this time, it was a little different, I was extremely grateful for the progress the kids had made in transition from the states to China. The difficulty in the ordinary they had overcome. It was peaceful, and ready to start the week.

6:10am- Chinese National Anthem Song, shakes our apartment windows. THE CHINESE NATIONAL ANTHEN SONG, BLASTING, through some speakers at the school next to our apartments, rather, facing our apartments, rings allowed, as the students form military marching lines, and march for 30 min before they start school, wakes us up M-F and some Saturdays. The emoji face i want to place here, I don't think exists.

Unfortunately the peace I was feeling, was quickly sapped out of the apartment, as the kids groggily wake up (after a week of spring break), not wanting to go back to school... 

After some convincing, they ate their egg breakfast, got ready, and we got out the door...

After school I was amazed at the kids.

They helped me set the table, the girls prepared the vegetables (washed and cut them), Calvin filled the water for the pots for the pasta, and started on homework without asking.

We ate, we cleaned, and we played. We went to the park with a neighbor kid, and as we played the soundtrack to "The Greatest Showman" danced, and pretended we were on the circus stage.

Back home, the kids had their regular second dinner (some fruits and veggies), and off to get ready for bed. 

Showers, and baths for each.

While I was dressing Calvin, Olivia decided she needed a message, so Ella, set up a message table (our coffee table, with a blanket on it) and proceeded to rub lotion on different spots on Liv, as she just relaxed like she was in a beer commercial. Calvin wanted in on it, but he only wanted his head messaged.

Time to read to each kid, sing, and pray.

Kids were asleep, and Pam came home.

The house. Picked up. Peaceful. Calm. 

A real miracle.

I learned a few lessons this weekend.

Change challenges us. Change motivates us. Change is hard, but it grows us, it increases our abilities in the everyday. 

My kids were so resilient to mom being gone, completely capable of handling life. I think a big piece of that was that everyday life, compared to the transition, has matured them, to slow down, be ok with less, to find joy in simple things, to be flexible to change, or not having their way... and that goes with me as well.

Grace and Peace.