One of my favorite photos of my sons, is the one with them helping out their puo-puo (婆婆: grandma) in the kitchen. The boys had flour all over them while taking turns churning the manual pasta machine as puo-puo looked on. It was all fun and play for the kids, sheer joy for Puo-Puo. The love in her eyes was evident, displayed freely in her gentle smile. It was a messy scene for the usually spotless kitchen but Puo-Puo didn't seem to mind at all.
Gogo (哥哥) stood a little taller than the table with his hands on the machine handle. Didi (弟弟) was just three years old then, not quite able to reach even with all his might. That was nearly five years ago. We needed to plan a trip to visit my in-laws, a long overdue trip. This trip would have added significance – help my father in-law celebrate his big 6-0.
I asked our sons if they were excited about the upcoming trip, neither of them expressed much excitement. I didn’t blame them, memories from five years ago were about as distant as the toy cars they had tossed into the donation bin. Gogo is tall and husky for his age, Didi has also grown a lot since the picture on the fridge was taken.
It didn’t come as a surprise that the flight would be a one-day affair. Too bad we don’t live closer to my in-laws or we’d definitely visit them more often. Looking at the few flight options, we opted for one that would require the family to be up at 4 am for the airport shuttle. Blame it on the time difference and the heightened air travel security. I actually don’t mind the extra layer of airport screening, it brings some peace of mind.
Came departure day, everyone got up rather swiftly. Our boys had been on quite a few trips, they knew the drills. No sooner had I looked through our checklist and double checked our travel documents than the shuttle arrived in our driveway. The drive to the airport took much less time than it normally would. There were very few vehicles on the roads before the break of dawn.
After checking in our luggage and passing through airport security, we headed to the gate for our first flight. The totally flight time was actually short, however, the 3 ½-hr layover in between flights chewed up the day. We had lunch, browsed the stores, and rode the airport tram just for fun. Finally, it was time to board our second flight, one step closer to our destination.
I was having sporadic chats with 周公 when the flight attendant came around with his cart. I asked for a cup of apple juice and cookies. I looked over at another passenger, he requested peanuts. “The bags of peanuts being handed out sure have shrunk!”, I thought to myself. “If you’d like extra peanuts, they are $3 each (bag).”, our friendly attendant offered. Robbery at mile-high was more appropriate.
Before long, we were less than a hundred kilometers from the airport. Over the intercom, the captain announced that we would soon begin to descend. Although she didn’t display a lot of emotions, I was sure that my wife was very happy to be back again. We didn’t spend more than a few minutes going through customs and getting our passports stamped. Briskly, we marched out to the lobby and were met by my brother in-law.
“Say Hi to QQ (舅舅), I asked the boys. They turned and greeted the “stranger” stood before them. QQ was in disbelief that the kids had gotten so big. We chatted as we strolled through the parking garage and were soon on our way – to Puo-Puo’s.
The city’s outskirt hasn’t changed much but there are definitely a lot more houses and stores now. QQ took us on a new route which I didn’t recognize, supposedly, a shorter distance back home. Some thirty minutes later, we finally arrived! Gogo got up to the door and rang the bell. A familiar voice responded and the door was ajar. My mother in-law greeted us as she gazed upon her grandsons. Her smiles grew as the boys greeted her, “Hi Puo-Puo.”. She stood in amazement for a brief moment. The little baby that she had once taken care of, is now taller than her - Gogo. She looked at both her grandsons and smiled once again.
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