Half way.... or a celebration of 9 years.

J and I had reason to celebrate this weekend.  We are half way through our legal obligations to Kiddo.  ;P 

We joke, of course.  We would keep her around forever if we could, but we know that one day she will go off and explore on her own.  We can only hope that we built a strong enough bond with her that she wants to include us, or join us, on adventures once she reaches that point of life, but for now, we enjoy the strange mix of kid and tween, where she both needs and wants us, but also seeks independence and her own self.  

On Friday (her actual birthday) we had H around for the afternoon, since it was a half day for the girls.  It was strange, that H and Kiddo were in their own world and doing there own thing, hating if we knocked or intruded, wanting to be their own selves.  The next day, however, when J and I got a chance to do gifts with her and pancakes and just family time Birthday, Kiddo couldn’t get enough of us and loved her new stuffed bear that she named Chocolate.  The day before, she was such a big girl, such a teenager… or at least a wannabe teen, and the very next day, she’s playing on the floor and loving a new stuffed friend.  

We just enjoy it.  J struggles a bit, wondering if Kiddo had a good birthday, as she seemed upset with us parts of the day.  I explained to J that she was in friend mode and that it had nothing to do with us.  That she loved us and that she appreciated that we gave her a friend day for her birthday.  That she wasn’t all about family and being 9, but instead about being with her bestie and just allowed to be her.  H is her bestie.  Kiddo was over to H’s house on the Sunday before her birthday and they did a dress up and just girled out together.  However, she is still our little love who loves her stuffed friends and Mumma and Dada immensely.

Sunday, just yesterday, we went to the library as a family and then grabbed lunch.  J needed some bloodwork done and the clinic called to schedule that with her.  Openings were on Sunday afternoon or Monday.  With today (Monday) being a work day, it was better for J to take the time yesterday.  So, after lunch, J headed off to the clinic to get the blood draw done and Kiddo and I headed back to the train to come home.  She talked my ear off and we just had a nice walk.  I surprised her with a late birthday gift of a stuffed Weinerdog friend.  There is a small shop between the library and a Starbucks that we usually go read at for a bit before lunch and since I don’t usually utilized the library (I have Libby and a Kindle, so 99% of my reading needs are met) I headed over to Da Bux to read before the girls caught up.  I picked up Sausage on the way and stashed her in my bag until after lunch on the walk to the train.  I made some barking noises and had Kiddo checking the bushes before we realized that Sausage must have jumped in my bag and needed to come home with us.  Kiddo was overjoyed and I was happy to see the smile and talk about the plans we had in Ranza for the new friends.  Chocolate was just getting out of quarantine, so Sausage could enter it.  Poley, the quarantine nurse was less than pleased, but he is always happy to meet new friends.  In fact, he and Chocolate are besties, as they share a love for salmon and talked about river salmon, sea salmon, and favorite recipes.  

Other than that, life been chill.  Just the usual, as I mentioned last post.  We did, however, get our summer planned and booked.  We are returning to BKK for a week, to see the city and Beer and eat and just take it back in after two years away.  We will be in Silom, near the Nelson Hayes Library that we used to visit and do all those adventures while we lived there.  We like the area and the food is a lot of Japanese, Indian, but also Thai markets and the the like.  So, we’ll have a nice variety.  After that, we will visit Krabi and spend a week on the beach, Chiang Rai and the northern area of Thailand to see the elephants and mountains and live a little slower for a week.  Then, after three weeks in Thailand, we will fly out and get to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for a week there.  A month away before coming back and getting back to the long grinds that are the school year in China.

I, however, will get another reprieve in September.  Schmittah is planning on coming out in late August and we’ll chill here for a week and let Schmittah get over the jet lag before he and I hope on a plane and get to Saigon and I get to show him Vietnam.  October, during the week break then, J and I have talked about getting Kiddo to Vietnam, since we all love it there, but we might pop back to Thailand or even get into Cambodia and see that.  Just for a few days away and time to decompress a bit.  If not, that is the plan for February break next year.  

There is a lot to decide in the weeks to come, about our time here and where next, but with the market in flux, it’s not as easy as it has been in the past.  We are taking it as it comes, but we are also taking more time away and spending it in places we love and want to see.  The adventure will continue, but it might be in surprising ways.  Time will tell.

Let’s go, Kiddo…. You are 9 now and the best 9 year old I know.  This year is going to be a fun one, we can tell, and next year it’ll be double digits.  WOW!  It really feels like a month ago we brought you home, a week ago we got on a plan to BKK, and a minute ago that we got to China and we are coming up on two years.  You were just 4 years old when we moved, it was July of that year, the same time we will be returning to BKK.  You’ve spent more than half your life on this crazy adventure and more and more you are wanting more adventures.  You wanted Malaysia and we are finally getting there.  You want Cambodia and Korea and Japan and those are in the future, I promise you that.  Thanks for coming along for all of this, but thanks for also driving us forward as well.  We love you, happy birthday, and we can’t wait to celebrate more and more with you.  Also, please keep being you, in every way that you want.