Nothing Kind of Day

I’m not sure I am very Mary Tyler Moorish other than that I look good in a hat and I was once in a TV studio for a show called Brainscramble. (I did not do well on this children’s version of Jeopardy because I kept punching the buzzer before the questions were asked, and I didn’t know the answers to any of the questions.) Like Mary Tyler Moore, however, I do think that I can "take a nothing day and certainly make it seem worthwhile."  That aptly described this Sunday.

It consisted of a bit of a sleep-in (Don kindly fed and watered the girls), a grocery shop, lunch, cookie making, a Skype call with my mom and dad and the regular Sunday evening ritual of sushi on the bed and a movie with the whole family.

Though nothing out of the ordinary happened, it slid along like butter on a hot piece of toast.  (And even though I'm not eating butter these days, that is a very happy image!)  Emily and I had a delightful grocery shop together; I gave her little errands in each aisle and she happily raced around getting lemons and cereal and feminine hygiene products.  (“Do you mean those diapers for ladies, Mama?”) 

Emily is learning how to read so it was fun to have her look for specific products and brands.  She found the Shiraz over the Cabernet and the Fruit and Fiber over the Kaptain Krunch, though she liked the "K" alliteration much better.  She also loved unloading all the merchandise onto the checkout counter, piling it haphazardly and stressing the checkout lady out who couldn’t keep up with her speed. 

We are always a spectacle in the supermarket anyway because most people in Hong Kong shop for a day or two at a time; we, on the other hand, fill up a cart to the gills, Costco-style.  People are continually walking past us and gasping.  I always smile and mutter lies like "We're having a party or  “I have a very large family.”  I know most people don’t buy six loaves of bread at a time and 12 cans of garbanzo beans, but I’m not an Asian shopper.  It does make me wonder if we really do eat (and drink) that much more than the average petite Chinese person here in Hong Kong.  Very likely, yes.

When we got home, I let Emily “drive” the car and be my taxi driver.  She is obsessed with driving and all of her spare time is spent either playing with cars, pretending to be or drive a car, or live in her fantasy tiger/lion world.  I took the keys out of the ignition and gave strict instructions about what she was allowed to touch and not touch.  She took me to Shanghai, Los Angeles and “the place Kung Fu Panda lives."  Very fun.  (She really likes making me get in and out of the car and collecting money from me each time.)

After lunch we made our second batch of vegan cookies in the grand experiment mama is imposing on the rest of the family.  This time we had peanut butter cookies made with maple syrup.  The big bonus of baking vegan is you can eat as much of the batter as you want without fear of getting sick from the raw eggs so we had quite the feast both before and after baking.

Since Don and Charlotte were not yet back from their father/daughter hike day, we decided to have a “girl party.”  Emily set the table and we sat down to our cookies and Earl Grey tea with lemon and sugar.  We put on a Mozart piano concerto and pretended we were ladies that lunch.   We discussed the weather, why "butt" was both your bum and a conjunction, where babies come from (again!) and if Daddy is aware of this, and why Charlotte is so bossy, “kind of like Mommy.”  

During our high-tea-at-home, my mom and dad skyped us so they got to join in on our tea party.  I don’t give technology it’s due shrift; I am a Luddite struggling to come into this vast new land of information, but to be able to connect with grandparents and have them join our party?   Truly priceless!  It was great fun to nibble our cookies and for Emily to wiggle her loose tooth for Omi and Opa and for them to see Charlotte and Don arrive home sweaty from their hike and for them to listen to the girls sing “The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow.” 

(During the conversation, my mother also took the opportunity to tell me that I exaggerate wildly on this blog and I should care more about what people will think of me.  She doesn't like that yesterday I wrote that she tended a garden the size of a small country.  Honestly?  My mother could pick up a tractor and throw it over a barn if she wanted to.  She's my hero.  The woman is legendary.)

Finally, we had sushi and pea soup on the bed (the latter food perhaps neither a good idea nor  a good combination with sushi, but we needed our fiber and vegetables!) whilst viewing an episode of The Jetsons.

The girls are brushing and flossing with Don downstairs, I’m still propped on the bed with remnants of supper around me and the heater warming me.  After this blog is put to bed, I'll read some bedtime stories, have a bath and just maybe (probably not, though) mark a few student essays.  

Tomorrow is Monday and that’s fine too.  I like the pattern of days, knowing I’ll be busily occupied but content.  I love my family.  I love my job.  I love my life.  These days, the less grandiose and the more simple my moments are, the better I like them.  I’m just going to keep it simple and enjoy the routine of my life.  The world is still on its axis and we’re not flying off of it.

For tomorrow I'm going to:

• Get up and ask myself what I can do to make the world a better place.
• Go do it.
• Have some fun while I’m doing it.
• See if I can inspire a few people along the way.
• Keep pea soup off the bed.
• Check into downloading some old Mary Tyler Moore episodes.