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I'll Never Walk This Way Again
I just made the last drive to high school with Cici this morning. She will take her last two final exams this morning and Ping will pick her up from school for the last time. Should we drive around for a while and savor the moment before you get out of the car and go into the school? I asked Cici. Papa, she scolded, I am so ready to graduate from high school. I just want to take the exams and be done with it.
But as I drove the familiar route away from the school toward the office it was a trip down memory lane. It took me through some of the same streets that I was driving on 30 years ago, and I noticed the changes.
What was a thriving Kentucky Fried Chicken on that corner 30 years ago became a KFC for a while after the name change, but today it is a bright yellow building in which a pawn shop is located with only Spanish words written on its signs. Only the shape of the building would cause a sharp observer to wonder why it looks like a KFC location.
Next to this building, and also painted a bright yellow, is another building that has a shape that should cause someone to wonder whether it was once a Pizza Hut, and the answer would be yes. It also has only Spanish words written on it.
Behind these buildings is a large Mexican meat market, in a building that once contained a Western grocery store, and then a K-Mart for a while, before becoming a Dollar Store and now surrendering to the neighborhood to provide what the residents want to buy.
I made a last stop in the Starbucks that I used to frequent daily, only to discover that not a single person who used to work there was there this morning, and it was only a couple of weeks ago that I was thinking about the longevity of the employees at that location. Haven't they graduated from college yet? I wondered. Maybe they have now, or maybe they are taking final exams. Whatever the reason, they were all gone today.
With Cici graduating from the high school, and with us moving our law firm away from that part of town, I have no reason to drive through that part of town again. The road to Texas A&M doesn't go in that direction from our home, so in all likelihood I have seen the last of that part of town. It was good while it lasted.
But as I drove the familiar route away from the school toward the office it was a trip down memory lane. It took me through some of the same streets that I was driving on 30 years ago, and I noticed the changes.
What was a thriving Kentucky Fried Chicken on that corner 30 years ago became a KFC for a while after the name change, but today it is a bright yellow building in which a pawn shop is located with only Spanish words written on its signs. Only the shape of the building would cause a sharp observer to wonder why it looks like a KFC location.
Next to this building, and also painted a bright yellow, is another building that has a shape that should cause someone to wonder whether it was once a Pizza Hut, and the answer would be yes. It also has only Spanish words written on it.
Behind these buildings is a large Mexican meat market, in a building that once contained a Western grocery store, and then a K-Mart for a while, before becoming a Dollar Store and now surrendering to the neighborhood to provide what the residents want to buy.
I made a last stop in the Starbucks that I used to frequent daily, only to discover that not a single person who used to work there was there this morning, and it was only a couple of weeks ago that I was thinking about the longevity of the employees at that location. Haven't they graduated from college yet? I wondered. Maybe they have now, or maybe they are taking final exams. Whatever the reason, they were all gone today.
With Cici graduating from the high school, and with us moving our law firm away from that part of town, I have no reason to drive through that part of town again. The road to Texas A&M doesn't go in that direction from our home, so in all likelihood I have seen the last of that part of town. It was good while it lasted.
The Next Chapter
Well, Ping and I are getting a taste of what it will be like with our baby girl gone to college. Cici is out shopping and having fun with one of her friends, so Ping and I set up in the living room at our tea cart. It is such a beautiful cart - made rosewood - even the two wheels. Nearby on her semi-circular rosewood desk she has the laptop that has all the beautiful music that we listed to more than five years ago now on my first trip to China.
One of the songs is the one that we listened to for 10 hours the day we had our wedding photos taken in Guangzhou. I think it is called I Will Marry You Today. I asked her to put it on a loop just like it was the day we were at the wedding photo studio. She brought me a cup of Tai Ping Hou Kui, which has become my favorite green tea. There is a bay window next to the tea cart and I can see through the shutters where Cici's car is parked outside her bedroom window.
It is a peaceful environment as dusk draws near. Parsley, Sage, Rosemary &Thyme is playing now and Ping is humming along. I suspect that memories are flooding through her mind as they are mine. And we have great memories, and now a chance to create more as Cici prepares to start her college career.
The tea set that Ping and I bought in Guangzhou is sitting proudly on our tea cart. I raised one of the leaves that we usually keep dropped on the tea cart and I put a towel on the cart to protect the surface where I put my laptop.
As I look around the room it amazes me to see the transformation from the way it was before Ping arrived. She has two very large vases with tall peach blossom stems and flowers standing in them. We have Chinese rosewood furniture everywhere, a cabernet red carpet but with a large area rug on half the floor in the room. It has a beautiful pattern with a cream colored background so that it stands out on the carpet.
Our second betta fish died recently and Ping gave him a nice burial outside our bedroom window. His empty bowl is waiting on the coffee table for his replacement, but Ping won't get a new fish until she returns from China. She wants me to have plenty of time to focus on her plants and flowers while she is not here to take care of them.
There is a storm moving in as we sit here listening to the music. Rumbles of thunder are growing closer. Ping is kibitzing over my shoulder. I thought you were busy working, she said, but I found that you are playing. Be sure to tell them that I brought a cup of tea to you, and that I had to go make more tea for you, she told me.
Casablanca played while I was writing, and now Kenny Rogers is singing Lady. Cici and her friend just pulled up outside the bay window, so they arrived home just ahead of the storm. Her friend is spending the night, so she won't have to go back out into the weather. Ping, the ever watchful Mom, already has the front door open to welcome them inside. In fact, Ping has walked all the way out to the car to help the girls bring things inside our home.
And what song could be more appropriate at this moment? How about Andy Williams singing Love Story - that is what has just happened.
But now the girls are begging me to take them to the store before he storm hits, so off I go.
Almost There
I was busy with work yesterday so Ping drove to school in the early evening and took Cici to get a bite to eat before her last concert of the year - her last concert in high school. Papa is too busy to come to your concert, Ping told Cici. Cici sent several text messages to me asking if I could come to watch her perform. I am so busy, I told her, but I worked even faster. I missed eating dinner with the girls, but I was on time for the concert and surprised both of them.
Cici saw me first when I arrived and she got a big smile on her face. Somehow she managed to send a text message to me after I arrived, even though she and the band were doing their final warm ups. I am glad I was there because she was the little star of the evening. She was surprised with the John Philip Sousa Music Award, which according to the certificate is the most prestigious award in music for high school students.
Then Cici stood on the stage with the other seniors who are in the band and they showed her baby picture and pictures at other times in her life, ending with her graduation photo. She seemed to thoroughly enjoy herself, and at the end of the program her band director talked with her about how he wants to help her continue with her music in college. I will make the contacts at your college, but be sure to follow up on them, he encouraged her.
There were a lot of goodbyes to say when the program ended, because many of the people there will not be at graduation, so this was the last time we would see them. After everything was over Cici asked me if we could give one of her friends a ride to her house. We did that, and as Cici and I drove home she told me that two of her classmates will come to our house this weekend to study for final exams with her.
This is not that shy little girl who started high school four years ago, I thought. She is very much a part of what is happening at the school. Everyone knows her, and I expect she will have good memories overall about her high school experience, and all those long sleepless nights of home work will fade away in her mind.
Cici saw me first when I arrived and she got a big smile on her face. Somehow she managed to send a text message to me after I arrived, even though she and the band were doing their final warm ups. I am glad I was there because she was the little star of the evening. She was surprised with the John Philip Sousa Music Award, which according to the certificate is the most prestigious award in music for high school students.
Then Cici stood on the stage with the other seniors who are in the band and they showed her baby picture and pictures at other times in her life, ending with her graduation photo. She seemed to thoroughly enjoy herself, and at the end of the program her band director talked with her about how he wants to help her continue with her music in college. I will make the contacts at your college, but be sure to follow up on them, he encouraged her.
There were a lot of goodbyes to say when the program ended, because many of the people there will not be at graduation, so this was the last time we would see them. After everything was over Cici asked me if we could give one of her friends a ride to her house. We did that, and as Cici and I drove home she told me that two of her classmates will come to our house this weekend to study for final exams with her.
This is not that shy little girl who started high school four years ago, I thought. She is very much a part of what is happening at the school. Everyone knows her, and I expect she will have good memories overall about her high school experience, and all those long sleepless nights of home work will fade away in her mind.
The Inside Scoop
When you watch someone grow as a person, but you are with them day and night, you miss a few things. You might even miss a lot. Last evening at the Honors Banquet I got a fresh new look at how much Cici has changed since she arrived in America.
In the beginning, there was little interaction between Cici and her classmates. They have no patience for me, Cici replied when I asked her about it, because my English is not good. Over the years I watched things change and noticed that Cici had friends among her classmates. At first, it was mostly the other Asian girls - the students from Thailand and Vietnam - but just other girls.
Last night when we arrived Cici was greeted excitedly by a beautiful and vivacious black cheerleader who is one of the most popular kids in the school. She and several other girls have worked on Cici for a couple of weeks about going to the prom with them, but Cici went last year and has no interest in going again. The young cheerleader came and sat beside Cici while we were all eating. Angela is amazing, she told Ping and me. She is just an amazing person. Cici was a little embarrassed but still managed to smile and say thank you to her friend.
When we were driving home after the banquet Cici said her friend told her why her group of friends had been trying so hard to get her to go to the prom with them. Cici had been chosen to be recognized for two things at the prom, based on the vote of the students: best hair, and smartest student.
But back to the banquet.
The National Honor Society opened the honors ceremonies with the induction of new members. Five of the current members had been chosen to perform the ceremony. Ping and I were surprised to see our daughter take the stage, pull the microphone into position, and confidently and perfectly read the opening portion of the ceremony to educate everyone in attendance about the purpose of the National Honor Society. She was followed in turn by four other members, each of whom joined Cici at the side of the stage when they finished reading their parts.
Cici was the only girl in the bunch, and what surprised me the most was the ease with which she was talking and laughing with the other members of the National Honor Society.
After the new members were inducted, Cici and the other graduating members were called to the stage one at a time to receive their graduation stole to wear on their gown at graduation, to signify their membership in the National Honor Society. People politely clapped as each student took the stage to be recognized, but when Angela Solomon was announced there was not only applause, but some loud cheering from some of the students accompanied the applause.
Angela Solomon was called back to the stage repeatedly during the evening - she received the academic award in math; she received the activity award in instrumental music; she received her Honor Cord to recognize her magna cum laude status; she received the President's Award for Educational Excellence; she received her Star Honor Roll award; and she was recognized as class Salutatorian.
Through it all, Cici carried herself with poise. She posed and smiled for the camera as each award was presented to her. It was quite clear that she had progressed from a nobody freshman from a foreign country to someone who is quite popular and well known by her classmates. She has earned their respect and their friendship and will go off to college with confidence that she can fit in and do well in a college environment.
But the sad thing is that for the first time ever, Cici drove herself to school this morning. All I could do was carry her backpack to her car and watch as she drove away, all grown up and independent.
In the beginning, there was little interaction between Cici and her classmates. They have no patience for me, Cici replied when I asked her about it, because my English is not good. Over the years I watched things change and noticed that Cici had friends among her classmates. At first, it was mostly the other Asian girls - the students from Thailand and Vietnam - but just other girls.
Last night when we arrived Cici was greeted excitedly by a beautiful and vivacious black cheerleader who is one of the most popular kids in the school. She and several other girls have worked on Cici for a couple of weeks about going to the prom with them, but Cici went last year and has no interest in going again. The young cheerleader came and sat beside Cici while we were all eating. Angela is amazing, she told Ping and me. She is just an amazing person. Cici was a little embarrassed but still managed to smile and say thank you to her friend.
When we were driving home after the banquet Cici said her friend told her why her group of friends had been trying so hard to get her to go to the prom with them. Cici had been chosen to be recognized for two things at the prom, based on the vote of the students: best hair, and smartest student.
But back to the banquet.
The National Honor Society opened the honors ceremonies with the induction of new members. Five of the current members had been chosen to perform the ceremony. Ping and I were surprised to see our daughter take the stage, pull the microphone into position, and confidently and perfectly read the opening portion of the ceremony to educate everyone in attendance about the purpose of the National Honor Society. She was followed in turn by four other members, each of whom joined Cici at the side of the stage when they finished reading their parts.
Cici was the only girl in the bunch, and what surprised me the most was the ease with which she was talking and laughing with the other members of the National Honor Society.
After the new members were inducted, Cici and the other graduating members were called to the stage one at a time to receive their graduation stole to wear on their gown at graduation, to signify their membership in the National Honor Society. People politely clapped as each student took the stage to be recognized, but when Angela Solomon was announced there was not only applause, but some loud cheering from some of the students accompanied the applause.
Angela Solomon was called back to the stage repeatedly during the evening - she received the academic award in math; she received the activity award in instrumental music; she received her Honor Cord to recognize her magna cum laude status; she received the President's Award for Educational Excellence; she received her Star Honor Roll award; and she was recognized as class Salutatorian.
Through it all, Cici carried herself with poise. She posed and smiled for the camera as each award was presented to her. It was quite clear that she had progressed from a nobody freshman from a foreign country to someone who is quite popular and well known by her classmates. She has earned their respect and their friendship and will go off to college with confidence that she can fit in and do well in a college environment.
But the sad thing is that for the first time ever, Cici drove herself to school this morning. All I could do was carry her backpack to her car and watch as she drove away, all grown up and independent.
The End Game
This week we will attend the honors banquet with Cici. She and other students will receive their hard earned awards and recognitions. They had a ceremony last week with all the students in the school in attendance. Students were called to the front for each award or recognition but didn't actually receive them at that ceremony. It was just for recognition in front of their classmates.
How did it go? I asked Cici. It was okay, she said, giving her usual response to a question about school. How was your day today? I often ask her, knowing already that her response will be: It was okay. So how many awards did you receive? I asked, digging a little deeper. I don't remember, she replied, because there were too many. Every time I would sit down they kept calling me back to the front for another award.
Sounds like Ping and I will have an enjoyable evening at the banquet. We need to enjoy this because the work begins again in August, and the next end game is four years away.
How did it go? I asked Cici. It was okay, she said, giving her usual response to a question about school. How was your day today? I often ask her, knowing already that her response will be: It was okay. So how many awards did you receive? I asked, digging a little deeper. I don't remember, she replied, because there were too many. Every time I would sit down they kept calling me back to the front for another award.
Sounds like Ping and I will have an enjoyable evening at the banquet. We need to enjoy this because the work begins again in August, and the next end game is four years away.
Dying to Vote
After months of waiting until the fighting was over, Cici received her first voter registration card yesterday. The fighting was in the courts as different ethnic groups jockeyed over how the lines would be redrawn for voting districts. The fighting delayed the Texas primary from March until the end of May.
I am going to give you something that you got for free, but something that people all over the world are dying in the streets to try to obtain, I told Cici when I handed her card to her. Think about it, I said. Think about all the pictures you have seen on the internet with people protesting in the streets, trying to overthrow their government because they have no right to vote and no right to decide who will lead their country.
When will we vote the first time? Cici asked. On May 29, and you will be here for that vote. We will go together and I will show you how to vote. Then in November, when the Presidential election happens, you will already be an experienced voter.
With only a brief exposure to American history in high school, Cici still has a lot to learn. We already chose her history classes for the first two semesters of college: American History before 1877, and American History after 1877. By the time she completes these college courses, her understanding of America will be better than that of most people who were born in the United States.
I am going to give you something that you got for free, but something that people all over the world are dying in the streets to try to obtain, I told Cici when I handed her card to her. Think about it, I said. Think about all the pictures you have seen on the internet with people protesting in the streets, trying to overthrow their government because they have no right to vote and no right to decide who will lead their country.
When will we vote the first time? Cici asked. On May 29, and you will be here for that vote. We will go together and I will show you how to vote. Then in November, when the Presidential election happens, you will already be an experienced voter.
With only a brief exposure to American history in high school, Cici still has a lot to learn. We already chose her history classes for the first two semesters of college: American History before 1877, and American History after 1877. By the time she completes these college courses, her understanding of America will be better than that of most people who were born in the United States.
Hidden Talent
Last night I watched a movie on my Mac. The actors were not speaking, but music appropriate for the scenes played and changed as necessary to emphasize what the actors were portraying. It was a great little five minute production that Cici put together with a few of her classmates.
Well, they did the acting and Cici put the movie together. Then she did the scene creation, filming, and editing, and then created transition pages with words to guide the viewer (things like ... "7 years later," to show the passage of time), after which she selected and loaded to music, and basically made the movie happen.
I remember that Cici was in her room working hard on this movie because I heard her choosing music and I went to see what she was doing. She said that she was having to do all the work on a school project because her classmates were doing none of the work and the project was due.
I was quite impressed. It was a cleverly done little movie, and Cici said with modesty characteristic of me if you get my meaning, that it was the best movie that was done for that class. Many of the students saw our movie and used the same ideas for their movies, but none of them were as good as our movie, she concluded.
She made my Mac do things I didn't know it could do. I have learned so much from her. She has had me editing some of her work on her ipad as she patiently teaches me how to use it. It reminds me in some ways of working in an Excel spreadsheet, except I can use my fingers on the screen to do all the work.
Well, they did the acting and Cici put the movie together. Then she did the scene creation, filming, and editing, and then created transition pages with words to guide the viewer (things like ... "7 years later," to show the passage of time), after which she selected and loaded to music, and basically made the movie happen.
I remember that Cici was in her room working hard on this movie because I heard her choosing music and I went to see what she was doing. She said that she was having to do all the work on a school project because her classmates were doing none of the work and the project was due.
I was quite impressed. It was a cleverly done little movie, and Cici said with modesty characteristic of me if you get my meaning, that it was the best movie that was done for that class. Many of the students saw our movie and used the same ideas for their movies, but none of them were as good as our movie, she concluded.
She made my Mac do things I didn't know it could do. I have learned so much from her. She has had me editing some of her work on her ipad as she patiently teaches me how to use it. It reminds me in some ways of working in an Excel spreadsheet, except I can use my fingers on the screen to do all the work.
Lessons
For nearly four years I have been questioning Ping and Cici about things as we walk through our neighborhood. It has been a way of adding to their vocabulary in ways that they might not otherwise encounter the things we talk about.
This, I said to Cici last night as we walked, is from this sweet gum tree. I stopped and picked up the large burr looking object that is a tell-tale sign of a sweet gum tree. I remember reading about something like this, Cici said. Don't they stick to the hair of animals sometimes? Possibly, I said, but more likely what you were reading about is a cockle burr, which is much smaller and clings very tightly to whatever it touches.
Because of our previous walks, Cici recognized both the smell and the sight of a honeysuckle bush. We walked over to the bush to get a close-up smell. I like this, she said, and I think they make tea from it too.
What about that blue and white thing over there? I asked. Do you remember what it is called? That is a fire hydrant, she said confidently. Very good, I said. I thought you would say fire plug since that is easier to remember. No, she said, hydrant is easy because of the word hydrate, which relates to water, and I remember it that way.
Now that was a four year lesson, well-learned.
This, I said to Cici last night as we walked, is from this sweet gum tree. I stopped and picked up the large burr looking object that is a tell-tale sign of a sweet gum tree. I remember reading about something like this, Cici said. Don't they stick to the hair of animals sometimes? Possibly, I said, but more likely what you were reading about is a cockle burr, which is much smaller and clings very tightly to whatever it touches.
Because of our previous walks, Cici recognized both the smell and the sight of a honeysuckle bush. We walked over to the bush to get a close-up smell. I like this, she said, and I think they make tea from it too.
What about that blue and white thing over there? I asked. Do you remember what it is called? That is a fire hydrant, she said confidently. Very good, I said. I thought you would say fire plug since that is easier to remember. No, she said, hydrant is easy because of the word hydrate, which relates to water, and I remember it that way.
Now that was a four year lesson, well-learned.
My Country and My People
If you have any interest in understanding the Chinese people, this book is a great place to start. Lin Yutang was urged by none other than Pearl Buck to write this book. Their lives were essentially the flip side of each other, with her spending most of her life in China until she was forced to leave after the Communist Party took power, and he lived much of his life in Western countries. She wrote so many influential books and articles about China and the Chinese people, but believed that Lin Yutang was much more qualified to tell the story of the Chinese people.
Last night I watched a 1958 interview of Pearl Buck that was done by Mike Wallace, who just died this week at age 93. That would make him 39 at the time of the interview, and he was a hard nosed questioner even then. Each time he would attack, though, Pearl's response would catch him by surprise, sometimes throwing him completely off track. Early in the interview he started with the foregone conclusion that she was a feminist, for example, and was visibly shocked to learn that she was anything but a feminist.
Sometimes she would embarrass Mike by turning his question around on him, almost like she was playing with his mind. She would often answer questions in a way that left him wondering what she meant, and then would surprise him with her follow-up answers that showed he had jumped to the wrong conclusion about the meaning of her statements.
Why are you so critical of American women, Mike asked at one point. I am not critical of them at all, Pearl replied. I admire American women and I believe that women all over the world look at American women as being what they want to be. All I have ever said is that I think it is unfortunate that too many women bury themselves in their homes, because even if a woman stays at home to take care of her family, she can still continue to expand her mind and participate fully as a citizen. He eventually realized that this line of attack was failing, so he tried to attack her as not liking men. He failed again.
I don't mean to say that Mike Wallace conducted a poor interview - he actually did a great job. He was just up against someone who was not what he expected, and I believe she earned his respect by her ability to stand up to him, whether or not he agreed with what she had to say.
But back to My Country and My People. My copy of the book looks like a college text book at this point. It has my yellow highlighting and my black or blue underlining where I have read the same chapters over and over again, trying to understand and remember what Lin Yutang has so eloquently written about the Chinese people. He readily admits their weaknesses, and shows how what some would perceive to be a weakness is actually the underlying strength that has allowed China to survive as a country and a culture longer than any other country.
One point he makes over and over is that intelligent people are usually cowards. By that he means that intelligent people recognize the horrors of war and will go to great lengths to avoid them. Chinese people are intelligent people, and they would rather accept and roll with changes brought by invaders or by their leaders than to rise up and fight them. If American people were subjected to what the Chinese people have lived with for thousands of years, for example, there would have been 33 revolutions, and not just one, he said.
There is so much more in the book. I have discussed a lot of things in the book with Ping and Cici to see what they think about it, and they have confirmed the salient points. It is not something I can read and put away. It is an ongoing project that requires reading and rereading, seemingly with new breakthroughs every time I study a chapter again.
Last night I watched a 1958 interview of Pearl Buck that was done by Mike Wallace, who just died this week at age 93. That would make him 39 at the time of the interview, and he was a hard nosed questioner even then. Each time he would attack, though, Pearl's response would catch him by surprise, sometimes throwing him completely off track. Early in the interview he started with the foregone conclusion that she was a feminist, for example, and was visibly shocked to learn that she was anything but a feminist.
Sometimes she would embarrass Mike by turning his question around on him, almost like she was playing with his mind. She would often answer questions in a way that left him wondering what she meant, and then would surprise him with her follow-up answers that showed he had jumped to the wrong conclusion about the meaning of her statements.
Why are you so critical of American women, Mike asked at one point. I am not critical of them at all, Pearl replied. I admire American women and I believe that women all over the world look at American women as being what they want to be. All I have ever said is that I think it is unfortunate that too many women bury themselves in their homes, because even if a woman stays at home to take care of her family, she can still continue to expand her mind and participate fully as a citizen. He eventually realized that this line of attack was failing, so he tried to attack her as not liking men. He failed again.
I don't mean to say that Mike Wallace conducted a poor interview - he actually did a great job. He was just up against someone who was not what he expected, and I believe she earned his respect by her ability to stand up to him, whether or not he agreed with what she had to say.
But back to My Country and My People. My copy of the book looks like a college text book at this point. It has my yellow highlighting and my black or blue underlining where I have read the same chapters over and over again, trying to understand and remember what Lin Yutang has so eloquently written about the Chinese people. He readily admits their weaknesses, and shows how what some would perceive to be a weakness is actually the underlying strength that has allowed China to survive as a country and a culture longer than any other country.
One point he makes over and over is that intelligent people are usually cowards. By that he means that intelligent people recognize the horrors of war and will go to great lengths to avoid them. Chinese people are intelligent people, and they would rather accept and roll with changes brought by invaders or by their leaders than to rise up and fight them. If American people were subjected to what the Chinese people have lived with for thousands of years, for example, there would have been 33 revolutions, and not just one, he said.
There is so much more in the book. I have discussed a lot of things in the book with Ping and Cici to see what they think about it, and they have confirmed the salient points. It is not something I can read and put away. It is an ongoing project that requires reading and rereading, seemingly with new breakthroughs every time I study a chapter again.
Restraint
Sometimes Cici has a hankering for some ice cream and talks me into driving her to the grocery store. This past weekend she couldn't make up her mind about what flavor she wanted so she kept debating back and forth in front of the ice cream containers. I want to get a small container, she decided, because I don't need a large one. I thought she had made up her mind when she started pushing the grocery cart down the aisle. When we got to the checkout counter I saw what kind of decision she had made - she bought two containers in different flavors.
But she is a weight conscious girl and I was surprised to see that as of last night, she hasn't opened either container of ice cream. That is showing a lot of restraint, but I think I know what happened. Before we left the store she found some banana chips, which is her new favorite kind of chip, and they have a sweet flavor. She has been munching on them instead of eating the ice cream.
Now Ping has been using a different kind of restraint. She holds my arms behind my back to make me do stretching exercises. She worries that I spend too much time in front of a computer and that it will affect my posture, so she makes me engage in an exercise routine to counter all the sedentary time I spend at the computer. Help, I call to Cici. Mama is torturing me, but all I get is a smile in return. It is good for you, Papa.
But she is a weight conscious girl and I was surprised to see that as of last night, she hasn't opened either container of ice cream. That is showing a lot of restraint, but I think I know what happened. Before we left the store she found some banana chips, which is her new favorite kind of chip, and they have a sweet flavor. She has been munching on them instead of eating the ice cream.
Now Ping has been using a different kind of restraint. She holds my arms behind my back to make me do stretching exercises. She worries that I spend too much time in front of a computer and that it will affect my posture, so she makes me engage in an exercise routine to counter all the sedentary time I spend at the computer. Help, I call to Cici. Mama is torturing me, but all I get is a smile in return. It is good for you, Papa.
