Family is more than just a word
Taking my own advice, I will begin with a word. Then two. Thoughts will come. Ideas will spring. The words to fill the blank title bar will become self evident.
Meanwhile the girls are sleeping on this quiet Sunday morning. We are just three weeks from their first year anniversary since arriving in America. As I walked down our front walk to pick up the morning newspaper, the peacefulness of our neighborhood struck me once again. We are far from the constant hum of people and traffic, the sounds of the city, in Guangzhou. The girls have adapted to life in Houston so well.
Two evenings a week, and again on Saturday morning, Ping drives herself to the fitness club to work out. This is the routine that she followed for years in Guangzhou. Participating in the dance routines at the club energizes her. Sometimes she stops to shop at the nearby mall, just walking and looking, because it is a relaxing activity for her.
Once entirely dependent on me to go anywhere, to find anything, Ping has become largely self-sufficient. She stops at Costco and puts gas in the car, picking up things that we need while she is there. She knows how to get to each of our favorite Asian food markets, and she stops to pick up things that we need from them. When my schedule doesn't allow us to ride together, she drives Cici to school and picks her up to bring her back to our office or to our home.
Cici, on the other hand, is a home body. She is perfectly happy spending time in a place for which she has developed a particular love. Watching her, one might think that doing the family's laundry is the most relaxing thing in the world for her. She has a system, a process, a routine, that allows her to multi-task easily so that the laundry is not a chore. It also seems to energize her. She does her homework until she gets to a sticking point, and then she comes to me in our home office, book in hand, and we work through the sticking point together.
One evening this past week I teased Cici that she already knew the answers to questions in biology, but she just wanted me to do the work. This is because she knew exactly where the answers were in the book. Led me right to them. But the questions were a bit convoluted. I just wanted to be sure my answers were correct, she told me. She knows I don't mind helping her, so she is never the least bit reticent to seek my help.
Last evening I surprised the girls by talking about the bingxiang in our home. I have been lazy about learning to speak Chinese, so I decided to make more of a concerted effort. I have a workbook that has many peelable and stickable labels. I started with the one that means refrigerator. I peeled out the label and stuck it on the hinge cover at the top of the freezer side door. I can see it, though others will probably not notice it. And bingxiang will be added to my vocabulary.
Ping came to sit on my lap last evening, as she often does. It is her way of connecting with me after a long day of activities. We talk about little things. Sometimes we make plans for the future. Often we talk about our daughter. How proud we are of her. What a wonderful daughter she is for us. And many times our daughter joins us and we have a little family meeting. Last night we looked at Ping's cousin's daughter's little baby boy. He is so fat now, like a little Buddha. The girls have enjoyed watching him grow through the pictures that are shared regularly through the Internet. In this way, even our extended family joins us for our family meetings.
If you read our book, you know what our family means to us. If you didn't, this is a start.
Meanwhile the girls are sleeping on this quiet Sunday morning. We are just three weeks from their first year anniversary since arriving in America. As I walked down our front walk to pick up the morning newspaper, the peacefulness of our neighborhood struck me once again. We are far from the constant hum of people and traffic, the sounds of the city, in Guangzhou. The girls have adapted to life in Houston so well.
Two evenings a week, and again on Saturday morning, Ping drives herself to the fitness club to work out. This is the routine that she followed for years in Guangzhou. Participating in the dance routines at the club energizes her. Sometimes she stops to shop at the nearby mall, just walking and looking, because it is a relaxing activity for her.
Once entirely dependent on me to go anywhere, to find anything, Ping has become largely self-sufficient. She stops at Costco and puts gas in the car, picking up things that we need while she is there. She knows how to get to each of our favorite Asian food markets, and she stops to pick up things that we need from them. When my schedule doesn't allow us to ride together, she drives Cici to school and picks her up to bring her back to our office or to our home.
Cici, on the other hand, is a home body. She is perfectly happy spending time in a place for which she has developed a particular love. Watching her, one might think that doing the family's laundry is the most relaxing thing in the world for her. She has a system, a process, a routine, that allows her to multi-task easily so that the laundry is not a chore. It also seems to energize her. She does her homework until she gets to a sticking point, and then she comes to me in our home office, book in hand, and we work through the sticking point together.
One evening this past week I teased Cici that she already knew the answers to questions in biology, but she just wanted me to do the work. This is because she knew exactly where the answers were in the book. Led me right to them. But the questions were a bit convoluted. I just wanted to be sure my answers were correct, she told me. She knows I don't mind helping her, so she is never the least bit reticent to seek my help.
Last evening I surprised the girls by talking about the bingxiang in our home. I have been lazy about learning to speak Chinese, so I decided to make more of a concerted effort. I have a workbook that has many peelable and stickable labels. I started with the one that means refrigerator. I peeled out the label and stuck it on the hinge cover at the top of the freezer side door. I can see it, though others will probably not notice it. And bingxiang will be added to my vocabulary.
Ping came to sit on my lap last evening, as she often does. It is her way of connecting with me after a long day of activities. We talk about little things. Sometimes we make plans for the future. Often we talk about our daughter. How proud we are of her. What a wonderful daughter she is for us. And many times our daughter joins us and we have a little family meeting. Last night we looked at Ping's cousin's daughter's little baby boy. He is so fat now, like a little Buddha. The girls have enjoyed watching him grow through the pictures that are shared regularly through the Internet. In this way, even our extended family joins us for our family meetings.
If you read our book, you know what our family means to us. If you didn't, this is a start.
very touching story. It's really cute the way you and your daughter connect with each other.
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Yes, family is much more than a word,and your family seems special to you. This post gives hope to all of us who long for a close relationship with our loved ones.
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