What do you want, Krispy Kreme?
Did you know it is officially De-lurkers Week? That means, MoZiLLa, that you have to comment on my blog again. And as for the rest of you, no more excuses that you don’t know how! Click the comment button at the end of this post.
Prior to the Saturday night sleepover, the kids were treated to an afternoon at Krispy Kreme donuts. Joel & Odila are very loving friends of ours from Union Church. Odila, a gorgeous and wonderfully self-expressed Brazilian, has commented on occasion that we are too harsh with our kids. "Your kids are wonderful, you are doing such a great job with them, and I think you are just a little too tough!" she’ll smile assertively. This has been going on now since Thanksgiving when we attended a large dinner at mutual friends. Parents reading this will know well the games their kids play when it comes to eating and learning about boundaries. At this particular dinner the trips were all acting up and Tess and I weren’t giving them an inch to play with. (At left, the lovely and talented Odila surrounded by donut munching kids!)
There have been several occasions since that dinner when we saw Odila & Joel, each time Odila teasing me about being too harsh with the kids. Finally one day she said, "You know what I would like to do? I would like to take all your kids to Krispy Kreme donuts for an afternoon where anything goes… they can eat and drink whatever and as much as they want!" We joked about such an excursion, and then finally last Saturday afternoon the idea was fully baked.
Around 3:30 pm we dropped off all four kids in Mid Levels at the newest Krispy Kreme location in Hong Kong. Two of the kids’ friends from Union Church also joined the donut-fest. After determining the kids would be okay without us – especially the trips since they don’t know Odila and Joel that well – Tess and I escaped to a nearby Starbucks for thirty minutes of Grande Non-Fat Vanilla Latte therapy. (At left, handsome and cuddly Joel, surrounded by sugar-charged kids.)
By the end of the afternoon Sebastian consumed three donuts and half a hot chocolate. Jasper and Sela each had two donuts. Sela had one (she wanted to watch her diet) and never again will we need to worry about the triplets not knowing who Joel & Odila are – they are forever burned into the triplets’ Krispy Kreme’d minds. (At left, Olivia, Christopher and Sebastian spinning from their sugar fix!)
After futile attempts to clean sugar off the kids – it was everywhere but that’s okay – we all sauntered off to a small playground across the street with a merry-go-round. Two speeds were permitted, slow for little kids and very fast for big kids. Jasper had one try at very fast and didn’t like when he reached terminal velocity. Remarkably, all donuts remained in small tummies. Sela demonstrated her gymnastic abilities to an adoring audience, including a final pose of "Ta daaa!" The kids had a terrific afternoon and all thanked Joel & Odila for the very special treat. They want this to be a regular event.
Speaking of wants, and National De-Lurkers Week, what do you want? Instead of setting New Year’s Resolutions last week I chose to stay the course of current goals. but upon reflection of the question, "what do you want?" I came up with the following answer.
Believe it or not, I want change. Right now I need to work… I want to change that so I don’t need to work, or that there is less pressure to work and realise financial goals. Right now I have several unpublished books trapped inside me… I want to change that and publish those books. Right now my family are healthy and generally happy, but we have lots of stress in our lives… I want to change that so we have more joy and happiness, less stress in our lives. Some of the stress is from clutter… I want to change that and get rid of the clutter. And finally, right now I am not pursuing my spiritual calling fast enough. I want to change that, too.
"They" often say that humans don’t like change. I’m not sure that’s true and certainly is not the case in my life! I want and will embrace change. Happy New Year everyone, what do you want?
