Written up for rain

I wish I could roast a whole chicken today.  Or make a pot of chili.  The last few days have been rainy and grey and it puts me (and J as well) in as autumnal mood.  However, it’s still hot with humidities hanging around 80%.  So, it’s not like we can just open the windows and enjoy the cooler temps.  Besides that, the air quality hasn’t been great, so it’s better to keep the windows shut anyway.

Outside of that, we just sit back in wonder and awe of Kiddo.  She wrote her name in Thai the other day.  HOW COOL IS THAT?????  I might know 40 Thai words and can write none of them.  J probably knows 100 words and might be able to write one or two things.  Kiddo, she’s writing her name and speaking a bit of Thai with Nanny Beer and friends at school.  This is a big part of why we took this adventure.  Besides, what does she get to learn next?  Vietnamese?  Korean?  Japanese?  

She got a pink milk as a treat this weekend.  Sure, you could say it was because she wrote her name in Thai…. Or you could say it was just a weekend treat for being five.  Or maybe it was because she is the best scooter racer in the whole world.  You don’t believe me, you can just ask her and she will tell you all about it.  Also, can you do Family Fun Friday's without eating on the floor while watching a movie?  

Socially, she is making friends and we hear about that daily.  Today, she even brought presents to school for her friends.  Some stickers to share and some art she did.  Again, how cool!!!!!  That she trusts these kids to accept her and her gifts and art.  That is very brave of her and very cool that she wants to trust and share with others.

This whole experience has imprinted her and changed her.  We (J and I) would both say for the better.  As for us, we are happy.  Yes, it’s life.  Sometimes it’s hard.  Sometimes it takes work.  Sometimes we fight or argue, but after 15 years and a kid and married and all that, who doesn’t argue occasionally.  End of the day, we love each other.  We love Kiddo more than that.  We love this adventure.  We love it all and I’d be shocked if we returned to the States before Kiddo is ready for Uni and then we might stay gone depending on where Kiddo wants to go to Uni or if she wants to go to Uni.  Maybe she’ll be an actress.  A singer.  A novelist.  An artist.  Maybe she’ll want to follow Auntie Jesters and go into hair and beauty.  Maybe she’ll write a computer program that will bring about world peace.  

That’s the thing… I know that sun will rise tomorrow.  I know it will set in the west.  I will die.  So will J.  So will all you reading this.  Other than that, I can’t know more.  I can only anticipate and adapt to the day as it comes.  Same with the weeks, months, and years ahead.  It will be what it is.  The only thing I can control is how much love I give to J and Kiddo.  And to all of you.  All the rest is out of our hands.  If you want to call it fate or god or destiny or whatever, you can, but it’s just life.  We prefer to live that life instead of falling into the rut of it.  And part of living that life is giving Kiddo what we couldn’t know, couldn’t have, couldn’t experience, and didn’t know existed.  The other part (at least for us) is giving love in all things.  We love this experience.  We love the market.  The oddness (at times) and the uniqueness of this.  We love the experiences.  I wouldn’t trade my meals with J at Bouchon or Baan Tepa for anything, but for all that money we just got a meal.  But we got a bond.  A memory.  We got so much more than just a meal.  We got each other, a shared memory, a unique experience that wouldn’t be the same even if we went back.

It’s not about collecting all we can.  We gave away and sold most of our stuff before we moved here.  We’ve repurchased some of those things, but for the most part, we’ve found we don’t need or can live without.  At the end of the day, I agree with Kiddo.  I like eating ice cream and going to baseball games.  I’m not really a pet guy, but go ahead and be a vet, Kiddo.  

Let’s go Kiddo… to go scoot, to go play, to write in Thai, to have pink milk, to learn more, see more, and experience more.  Mumma and Dada love you and that’s worth more than anything, so let's just hold hands and walk into the future and see what it holds for you and for us.