bits of this and bits of that with more to come
More from our guest blogger…
When I arrived in Hong Kong last Thursday evening I would have expected to see an airport ad reading – "WANTED: applicants for Disneyland and Superhero characters. Apply immediately." I emerged from the Immigration line and from collecting my bags and saw a large group of excited welcomers waiting in the Arrivals area – another plane in addition to mine had just arrived. Friends and family peered around, up and over the throng as they tried to spy their dear one’s face.
As I turned the final corner and burst into the Arrivals I quickly picked out Tess holding Carys – we waved and beamed at one another. Big hugs as the others in the Caldwell clan joined us. I then took in what I was really looking at: the boys were dressed as Supermen and the girls were wearing their floating yellow Belle dresses (Beauty and the Beast) complete with "shiny black shoes" and white "fur" capes. It was a precious sight and a royal welcome 🙂
As I mentioned in an earlier letter Lita and De had a MUCH DESERVED 5 day weekend off over Easter. Apart from their invaluableness we were very pleased for them to be able to relax, sleep in, visit friends and apparently on Monday they travelled to the island of Lamma for a BBQ. Mmmmmm. They are both well and much loved by this family.
You might recall I suggested we were going out to the ABC (Aberdeen Boat Club) for dinner on Saturday evening – minus JJ and Tess. (Picture above of the ABC view from near where e sat.) It turned out to be a pleasant time although Tess and Jasper were missed by the rest of us. After a play in the playground we sat on the terrace overlooking the busy Aberdeen harbour with its moored boats and junks. Behind it the famous Floating Restaurant lit up although it is not as spectacular as usual as most of it has been removed for refurbishing. Thoughts of Graeme floated through my head as he performed there as "Brenda" one evening during his sojourn in Hong Kong a few years ago. The wind was warm, the sky slowly darkened and the endless apartment lights came on as evening crept over the city.
Seb, the girls and I had dinner while Charles sipped water….. Charles was on the final hour of a 45 day fast. For Lent he gave up food and had faithfully been fasting for the entire 45 days. (Not a single morsel for 45 days other than two communions!) What an example to me of discipline and obedience. He did it for the Lord and when we arrived home and the children were in bed we prayed and he thanked God for his fasting experience and then had some hot chicken broth. 🙂
We celebrated the joy of the next day at Union Church. It was a rich time of joy and thanksgiving and worship. The service was televised and it will have made good viewing as the choir sang beautifully of the Resurrection victory, the children’s choir was a delight, a quintet movingly sang "Were You There?" and Pastor Greg spoke forcefully and challenged us to LIVE our beliefs, to get out there and be counted and not be insipid (my words).
And in closing for today I want to share with you one of my joys – each morning I waken to the sounds of the birds singing and calling from the trees. I do not know why I do not recall this vividly from previous visits but this time they are noticeable. Their calls are different from anything I am familiar with and I lay in bed and let their songs wash over me. What a pleasant way to start the day.
I send each of you my love,
Maureen xox
Easter Monday Madness
Today we have a guest blogger… Tess’ mom, Maureen – otherwise known as Gorgeous Gran – is visiting for six weeks. This is her latest description of life with us in Hong Kong…
Today’s post is also entitled, "And to think I used to believe in helpers having a day off!" Today – Easter Monday – after Charles left for work and then the airport to fly to the States, Tess and I prepared and took the foursome to Chung Hom Kok Beach. We took lunch, towels, water, lemon tea, suntan lotion, Jasper’s emergency asthma bag, camera and a change of clothes for everyone. At approximately 10:30 AM we left with terribly excited children and hailed a taxi. In spite of Jasper walking straight into the taxi door as I loaded bags in the front seat we five had an enjoyable drive out towards Stanley to the aforementioned beach. There are 200 steps down to this beach and therefore, after doing the math, there are 200 steps back up at the end of a long, hot day with four tired children…. but I race ahead of myself. We truly had a grand day – the weather was perfect (in spite my hecking Weather Network yesterday and seeing a dismal forecast); the beach is the same one the triplets had their birthday party at – beautiful; the lure of sun and sand and ocean kept all six of us happy as clams.
Interesting learning experience for Mo as she took triplet after triplet up to the bathroom and learned the joy of helping a three year old go ‘poopers’ or ‘wee wee’ in a porcelain hole in the ground (at least it was porcelain). We left around 4-ish and at this point we were still enjoying life and all it had to offer. We taxied home after praying for a one to appear after climbing the 200 steps and up a steep hill with me bringing up the rear with Jasper who doesn’t exactly ‘do’ anything energetic with much speed. We got home, Tess raced upstairs for her wallet and we then turned around and headed for a quick shop for groceries. Note to self – NEVER EVER TAKE FOUR TIRED CHILDREN SHOPPING IN THE LATE AFTERNOON. And it is here that I now take issue with the concept of helpers having a day off…. ever! The grocery shopping trip was so awful that we needed not only Lita and De, who had had a much deserved five day weekend, but we could have used the absentee father of Seb, Jasper, Sela and Carys who thought it was more important to fulfill work obligations and fly to the States than go to Park ‘N Shop and be the third pair of hands and eyes!!
Never believe that miracles are not still happening in our modern day. We experienced them today – upon arrival at Park ‘N Shop it was assessed that I would take Seb and Sela to the playground across the street while Tess shopped with JJ and Carys. Off we went in our two directions. Suddenly, Tess arrived with her two and left Carys with me as Carys suddenly wanted to play. Back she went with Jasper to shop. Within 45 seconds both girls announced they needed to go ‘wee wee’. Dilemma for Mo – what to do with Seb… pressure for a decision as both girls are now clutching themselves due to the dire need to find relief in a bathroom…. leave Seb at playground and take off with the girls……. but!! Carys becomes a raving animal because ‘Mama’ is not the one taking her to the bathroom. I finally fling the limp, screaming child onto my hip and clutch Sela’s hand and we cross the street and enter PNS. Can’t find the bathroom; find Tess instead and deposit Sela with her and take the limp crying, snotty-nosed Carys with me and seek out an employee to show me where I might find a bathroom. Finally, the bathroom visit is done.
Carys will now stay with her mother, Sela wants to go back to the playground, JJ will stay with Tess…. I head to the door with Sela and bump straight into Seb …. That means he crossed the road by himself…. he now has to go to the bathroom….. back to the loo…. and at this point I suggest we all just stay in the store and get the *(&*^%#$#@@ shopping done!! With only one cart at this point all four are not contained – it gets surreal as the triplets are crying at the tops of their voices….. Tess called a halt, we circled the wagons and prayed. I got another cart and flung the two boys in and left Tess to handle the girls. We met in the produce, someone bumped someone else and Sela (who has the loudest crying voice of the four) fell apart and started to wail while I held her and stood in line as Tess took the other three and nabbed the few last items. A lady appears at our side to advise Tess that Seb had headed outdoors and crossed the road to the playground, Tess goes after him as the triplets and I began unloading groceries onto the moving belt. As we bagged groceries I froze as JJ was now missing.
I found him OUTSIDE CRAWLING UNDER THE BARRIER OFF THE ROAD AND BACK ONTO THE SIDEWALK. Heart attack! Came back into the grocery store and helped Carys as we all headed outside to hail a cab. Her attitude to her loving grandmother’s helping hand was abysmal – and Mo HAD HAD ENOUGH! I clipped her cute little back side and paid a big price! Carys proceeded to have a non-stop meltdown whilst wailing, "Mama, I need my Mama". White-knuckled I held onto the platinum blonde bombshell until a cab arrived, got the groceries in the cab with Tess using her foot to help JJ into the backseat – remember JJ rarely moves quickly and we now have an impatient bus right behind us, and we headed home with Carys still bellowing out "Mama, I need my Mama"….. I’ll Mama you!! Arrive back at home, vacate the cab when Carys now has phase two of her meltdown – complete battle of the wills so I take 3/4 of the Caldwell children upstairs with the groceries while Tess and Carys have a meeting of the minds in the carpark.
Bath time with me "in charge" – I am drinking a Carlsberg by this point whilst washing children who are drenching me as their four little bods slip and slide in the tub. Dinner. And Praise the Lord – bedtime. The triplets were asleep within seconds of the light off, Tess has showered and disappeared to her bed and here I am tap tapping to you. Tess and I reasoned that at the end of the day there had been no deaths and figured we had done pretty well! OH MY GOODNESS!!
I cease and desist – a little food and then to bed!
Blessings to all,
M xox
Easter Egg Hunt
Today we have a guest blogger… Tess’ mom, Maureen – otherwise known as Gorgeous Gran – is visiting for six weeks. This is her latest description of life with us in Hong Kong…
Today dawned with almost every child living in this complex excited with the prospect of THE Easter Egg Hunt at 10 AM in the playground. And it was a great success – parents divided the assembled children into two age groups and on the word "Go" off they wildly raced to search out their treasures. (Beforehand adults placed treats while others – top pic – held kids in waiting areas.)
My EVER competitive second daughter has already started plans for the Caldwell triplets to have pre-Easter Egg Hunt classes next year on "how to search faster and score more in the shortest amount of time." (Left, a scramble of kids in all different directions. Right, Carys checks over her shoulder while keeping her egg close to her out of harm’s way.)
Jasper investigates a chocolate egg with delight… and perhaps a mischievous eye, too!)
Mothers had brought down coffee and muffins (some of which had been baked by Charles) for the adults and for two hours a joyous time was enjoyed by all. Gradually the kids started to fly higher and higher and tears started to flow more easily as the sugar/chocolate highs hit hard. Tess periodically would ask, "Was this a good idea" and also mentioned, "I thought the sugar high wouldn’t last quite so long!!". Personally, I thought it was a great idea and had a really nice time as I shot digital pic after digital pic of not only my grandchildren but others as well. (Above, after just too much sugar, the Easter-treat laden bags were placed out of reach.)
I made only three extra trips upstairs to the flat for wee wees and poopers with various and sundry and victory was experienced by Team Caldwell as everyone had dry nickers and bobs. Charles then slipped away with Sebbie to take him to a downtown fair (Seb on the Bouncy Castle Slide at left) and Tess and I fed the little ones and put them to bed to "nap".
"Nap" is such a relative term – for the two naps I have been here for it has consisted of all three lying perfectly still in their beds, all cuddled down in their grow-bags, stuffed animals and dollies lined up beside them, drapes shut, kisses duly delivered by Mummy and Mo. 1.3 seconds after the door is closed the party begins. And they have a BALL. How do you go in and discipline when the trio are belting out Gospel songs at the tops of their voices as they jump, play, rearrange furniture, laugh and talk non-stop?
Tess and I reasoned that they were having a good time and that we were having a good time sitting on the couch sipping tea and listening to them. Still… the psychology of this "nap" time is fascinating – they NEVER fight. If they were three feet across the hall in their playroom, in other words playing and not "napping", there would eventually be fights but none ever happen during "nap" time. Tears periodically happen – as they are right now as someone got hurt in the melee – but not fighting. Fascinating.
So yes, life is wonderful at 6A and I am so very happy to be here.
……alright, I hardly know how to say this…… there was a fight amongst the triplets DURING "nap" time. My theory has just been shot down and Sela is now the not-so-proud bearer of a bite delivered by brother JJ. When asked by his mother "Why did you bite her?" he answered, "Because she is Sela". So there you are, folks – three year old rationale. To tell you the truth, neither Tess nor I think the wound has come from a bite – it does not look like a bite – hmmm, the plot thickens. And now Tess is trying to think of the appropriate discipline for the man of the hour – we are slated to go out for dinner tonight ….. JJ may miss out on this but unfortunately that means an adult will miss out too!
So dear family and friends, love to you all from "Team Caldwell’s" home in humid and rather smoggy HK.
M xox
Jasper the Gentleman
At his school, SWCK, Jasper is turning out to do quite the little gentleman, or flat out flirt. Here JJ is pictured dancing with a classmate, who he also knows from Union Church. Isn’t the smugness on his face just a little embarassing? I don’t want to sound like a gloating parent – maybe too late for that – but the whole thing is just a little bit ridiculous. Mothers who bump into Tess with Jasper at parties, or elsewhere around town, often say to her, "Oh, YOUR Jasper’s mother! My daughter is in JJ’s class and always talks about him!" Lucky guy. I don’t remember the girls talking about me in that fashion. In order for any of these little romances to progress Jasper is first in need of figuring out his sex… which changes daily. Girl… boy… girl with a willy… boy with a willy. But that’s not what we tell him. No, the path to romance is through eating your vegetables. (Ah, that’s where I went wrong.) Down the hatch, JJ, your dance cards filling up!
Ebony & Shrine
Wednesday early evening in Bangalore and my colleague (Paul) and I are about to head back to Hong Kong on the red-eye through Singapore. We leave Bangalore at 11:15 PM, arriving into Hong Kong early afternoon on Thursday. Bangalore is the usual hive of activity this week – signs of tech companies expanding everywhere. Traffic and noise worse than ever as consumers enjoy the fruits of their labour with new cars and motorcycles.
At lunch we took the India HR team (about 12 of us in total) out to lunch at a restaurant called "Ebony" that has a terrific view. The restaurant is on the 13th floor of one of the tallest buildings in the city. As I got in the elevator it occurred to me that I came to this restaurant for the first time in 1998. Since then I have been back a number of times, including on my last visit to Bangalore in December 2006. I had a little melancholy moment but don’t worry, it passed. The above picture is of (from left) Paul, Sarita, me and Neela. That’s Bangalore behind us.
After lunch the four of us visited a very famous Bangalore church called the "Infant Jesus Church." This is a new structure that recently replaced an older, ad hoc church. More importantly, next to this church is the Infant Jesus Shrine, known far and wide for the miracles emanating in the lives of people who pray there. This is where Uday lit the candles for the triplets when they were only a few days old and had many struggles ahead of them. Paul and I lit candles, I took some time to pray and left a donation in the offering. Then it was back to the office for more afternoon meetings. In another hour we will head to the airport. The other pictures here are from the Infant Jesus Shrine. See you back in Hong Kong!
Seb & JJ School Photos
I am so far behind on blogging it is ridiculous. I owe you many things stretching back to last summer and most recently Sela and Carys starting school. I don’t see much relief coming for about 1 – 2 months (tomorrow I am off to India for the week) so in the meantime, I’ll just have to satisfy you with more pictures of the kids. At left you’ll see school photos for Sebastian (top) and Jasper. For Sebastian, it’s a miracle he looks so good. That day he wasn’t even supposed to be going to school due to an admission interview for next year’s school.
At the 11th hour Sebastian reminded us it was picture taking day. We rushed to his school and within a few seconds SWCK re-arranged the photo schedule (including Seb’s class getting their group photo taken first instead of somewhere else in the que) to insure he departed in time for his interview. As for Jasper, this was one of his first days at school and he was still settling in. The class photo for JJ is terrific, but we can’t show all the other kids on the Internet without parental permission. You’ll just have to come visit us to see that picture.
