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a monday morning

I am really enjoying my life. Somehow, even though CD is so hot and muggy, I still like the summer best of all the seasons here. We have lots of sun and those wonderful thunder and rainstorms that pop up on lots of afternoons. We also have this wonderful swimming complex within easy walking distance of our home. The girls and I have been going there on almost every Tuesday morning. The kid's section is great with slides and things that squirt.

Last summer my friend Kara was visiting around this time and I was thinking about that recently. I felt so out of place in this city and in my life then. I didn't know what to do with the girls, how to spend each day and how to take care of myself. Over this past year those things have all gotten easier. I still have times when I don't know what to do with the girls but it doesn't stress me out like it did before.

I'll miss CD when we leave next year.

Today I'm hoping to get a project started. I've been wanting to make a video of our neighborhood - highlighting the areas we like the best and the places we pass everyday. It will be a good memory for us to look at some day but I want to do it mainly for our family who will never get the chance to visit our CD home.

I normally go to the office on Monday mornings for the weekly meeting but it's cancelled for today. I'll most likely go there anyway and get some emailing and other work done. I always enjoy time at the office, time away from the house.

I'm really looking forward to next week when our good friends, the Littletons, come to visit. We saw them in February of this year in Thailand but it's been over 3 years since they've been in China. It's always so fun to have friends visit. Phil and I are always saying things like, "We'll have to bring the Littletons here" or "the Littletons would love this spot".

Madeleine and I may make a special trip to Starbucks this morning. She's been asking to have a date with me to Starbucks for a couple weeks now. We have 3 within easy walking distance of our home (based on Chinese thought of "easy" walking distance, not American) and so it's a nice date place for Madeleine who loves a cup of whipped cream to perk her up in the mornings.

I'll go for the latte and the conversation.


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