I love Saturday mornings. 

When I rise, only the birds are usually awake with me.  While they sing and talk and announce the breaking of dawn, it is a time of quiet reflexion for me.  The girls also love Saturday mornings.  They do their reflecting in their dreams as they snuggle beneath their down comforters, safe in the arms of America.

After enjoying coffee and reading the newspaper, I can slip away to the office while traffic is still light.  The office welcomes me like an old friend, considerate enough that the phones are not ringing.  I can heat some water and pour it into a cup of noodles.  Three minutes later I can begin eating them with chopsticks, of which we keep a ready supply.  I am, in fact, at the office as I write these words.

Now the mood is set for writing.  But I need someone to share it with.  That is where you come in.  I know some people are reading along because I have been advised that there is a glitch with the blog.  One cannot return to the home page after going to the blog.  I have notified the web site developer, so that problem should be fixed in short order.

I also learned that I don’t know what user name and password I am supposed to use in order to approve comments for posting.  That is a Go Daddy question, so I will call them and fix that problem as well.

But you didn’t come here to read about technical problems.  You came here to spend time with friends.  We will try not to disappoint you. 

As my work on “Discovering Angela” progresses, we will begin sharing parts of it with you so you will have a sneak preview.  Ping has shown a lot of pride, just from knowing the title that I am using for this book.  She spent many long and lonely years as a single parent because she did not want to place her daughter at risk of being mistreated by a step-father.  Now she revels in the knowledge that she married a man who treats her daughter, his daughter, as a little treasure to be discovered and revealed to the world in the pages of a book.

Maybe that is why she lovingly caresses my ears at times when she stands behind me as I work at the office, or while we are laying in bed at night, or even while we are riding in our car.  Her pet name for me has been shortened to Niu Bao, and she uses it often.  Cici and I hear these words ringing through our home.  So I have shortened Ping’s name to Ji Bao.  Cici just calls us Mama and Papa.  My pet name for her is Cicia, and she seems to like it a lot.

I can hear the tea kettle calling me to pour hot water on the noodles.  And so begins another Saturday morning.