There IS life on this Planet! (Also titled "Has Spring Sprung?")

Last week we had some truly beautiful weather. I think it is too early for spring to be here but for a few blessed hours it truly felt as though it had already arrived. I was out with the kids because we have finally, drum roll please...gotten Conrad a big boy bike! He made use of the training wheels for about a week because it is quite a bit heavier than the run bike he is used to, but within a week he wanted me to take them off and away he went! He's been doing so well. So we were out in the afternoon and it was as if our neighborhood exploded with people! It was great! I met about 8 neighbors within the space of about 30 minutes! Really neat, interesting, friendly people. Some with kids, some without. Some with kids Conrad's age. Some with kids Conrad's age that actually even speak English! It has been so interesting watching him throughout this process. He is so social; I don't remember being anywhere near that level of social when I was a kid, I remember feeling painfully shy but he will play with anyone, wants to play with everyone! And he now has 2 friends in particular, one that speaks English and one that does not (she understands a little but speaks French and German). And watching them interact has been so fun because they truly can play without the language barrier interfering. It is so neat. But the best part for me is that the Moms are women that I have really connected with and whose company I really enjoy! There is life on this planet and it is becoming a good friend!

At the end of last week, our Ayi started working. I think I am going to really like her. She speaks some English, reads and understand more (as I have always found to be the way when one is learning a language). She has a great smile, seems very hard working and eager to please and is very sweet with the kids, eager also to interact with them. They are warming up to her slowly, Viv is the hard sell, but I think it will not be much longer before they are comfortable with her. I got a good laugh the first day though because in showing her the mountain of laundry that has piled up while I have been trying to unpack the house, she pointed to the washing machine and asked "you teach me how to use?" Are you kidding me? Teach me Chinese and I will teach you how to use that silly machine! But as she has tamed the monster of laundry in 2 days, without anything looking any worse for wear and against the challenge of a seemingly hamstrung dryer, I suspect what she meant was more along the lines of "please tell me how you want the laundry done". Or at least that's what I'm going with. I can be honest, I have a laundry system. And it is framed by too many years spent using coin-op machines during the lean years when quarters were scarce: the load that continues on to the dryer, and the load that does not. Colors? Temperatures? Hah! That was a luxury! Isn't it more ecologically friendly to do all your wash in cold anyway? I can also admit that as time went on and I got my own washer and dryer (at the age of 28 I finally felt like an adult!!!) that system had worked well enough for me that I largely stayed with it. It helps that having been out of the professional realm for so many years my wardrobe has simplified itself immensely (not like I had that much stuff to be dry cleaned even when I was working in an office...) but I'm inclined to think that whatever damage can be done to my clothes has long since been done by me. And as hard as our water was in Indiana, I suspect my clothes feel like they are on vacation here. And Heinz's shirts....hah! I can see me trying to tell her how to wash and iron a man's shirt; I would feel like such a poseur! In Kuala Lumpur we hired a wonderful Filipino woman to do some housework and babysit (Miss Mabel, oh how I have missed you!!!) and, other than a few glorious months of Merry Maids after Conrad was born, it was the only time I have ever been lucky enough to have someone come clean my house. And she was so professional end efficient, she would arrive and just get down to business and it occurred to me that these cleaning people often know the business of cleaning WAY better than I do. I felt downright silly telling her what to do and how to do it. Now I know, you tai-tais out there are going to tell me "Watch out, don't get too trusting." And I know, I have heard the horror stories of the maid who vacuumed all the wood floors with a screw loose on the head of the vacuum, scratched them all mercilessly and didn't seem to notice the noise it was making as she did; or the one who mopped the oriental carpet; or even the one who was stealing toys from the 5 year old boy for her son at home. But for all the horror stories, there are many happy endings, many families that would not trade their ayi for anyone! For the moment we are figuring it all out, and I believe we will all be happy in the end. I'll revisit the laundry situation when I start buying silk shirts again.

Our love to you all, wherever you are in the world: whether you are covered in 20 inches of snow, or headed out to Lembah Kiara park for Mom's group in the 80 degree sunshine. We miss you all and wish we could be with you. Yes, even in the 20 inches of snow. Hugs~