Small step...Big leap

“Pedal faster, faster!” I yelled out, the moment I let go the bicycle seat. You forged ahead down the slope with a glistening smile. “Whoa..haha..hahaha...”, you exclaimed in sheer exhilaration. There I stood, proud and in admiration. I spent a few moments to collect my thoughts. “Not bad for a five year old! He’ll be all right.”, I murmured to myself. 

A few years have gone by, the five year old has grown up quite a bit under our watchful eyes. Standing almost at eye-level with his mom, that boyish smile remains. Having recently completed the Safe Sitter course, we felt it was time for the youngster to take another step forward.

“You’re in charge today, breakfast and lunch are ready, just heat up when you’re hungry. Here are the phone numbers if you need to get hold of me or Baba.” A few words from kids’ mom before she left for work. “OK”, the reply was short and sweet.

Although I knew the boys could manage just fine, I was still uneasy leaving them at home by themselves. As much as I wanted to call and make sure everything was OK, I didn’t pick up the phone.  

I’m not a clock watcher but I was this afternoon. Finally, it was time to head home! The weather was gorgeous, maybe a little windy. I arrived home to see the boys watching TV in the family room. “How was your day?”, I asked. “Good.”, a simple answer but boy, was I relieved! It may be a small step in your young life, however, it’s a big leap toward independence. 

Keep it up, son! 

“踏快一點, 再快一點!”, 我鬆開捉緊腳踏車椅墊的手, 對著兒子喊著. 你自己騎著單車, 衝下小山丘,笑靨滿溢. “喔….哈哈…哈哈哈哈”, 你開懷的笑著. 望著你, 我並足而立, 驕傲中帶著欽佩. 我呆立的回想,  “才五歲的他還真行, 我可以放心了!”, 我喃喃自語.

轉眼間, 已匆匆數年, 在我們呵護下, 那個五歲的小男孩已經長大許多. 個子已幾乎追上了媽媽的他, 仍保有那稚氣的笑容. 不久前, 他才上過安全保母的課程, 我們覺得, 是該讓他走邁出人生的另一步了.

“今天由你當家, 早,午餐已經準備好, 餓了只要熱一下就可以吃.  紙上有我跟爸爸的電話號碼, 需要的話, 就打給我們.” 孩子們的媽在上班前的叮囑. “好”, 哥哥短短的回答.

雖然我知道孩子們能自治, 但是讓他們自己留在家裡, 我還是有點不放心.  儘管一直想要打電話回家探個究竟, 我始終沒提起聽筒. 

平常我很少盯著牆上的鐘, 但是今天例外. 好不容易, 終於熬到下班時間! 外面的天氣非常好, 雖然風大了些.  我回家時兄弟倆正在看電視, “今天還好吧?”, 我問著. “好”, 哥哥簡短的回覆.  我鬆了口氣, 也放下心中的一塊石頭! 對你來説, 這只是 你人生中踏出的一小步, 實際上, 你已經朝著獨立跨出一大步.   

加油, 兒子!

 

榕樹下的回憶

衣櫃上的三個鞋盒擺了多久, 我不記得, 原本放在裡面的鞋子, 可能早在幾年前就穿爛扔掉了. 現在, 盒子裡存放的是一張張的信件, 跟一疊疊的賀卡. 三個盒子裝的是三十多年來的記憶, 老馬雖然仍舊識途, 但是在走了這麼遙遠的路後, 還是需要靠這些舊書信來尋回淡忘的往事. 或許是我念舊, 也或許是我捨不得讓時光真正的流走.

日前, 午飯後我在網路上看新聞, 一時心血來潮, 在谷歌搜尋框中打了”逸仙”兩個字.  我要找的, 並不是國父創國的事跡, 而是我曾經唸過的學校 - 北投逸仙國小.  算算, 小學驪歌聲了, 已經有三十多個年頭了!  我從網路上得知母校正歡度五十週年校慶, 身為校友的我, 在留言區踏下了一個祝賀的腳印.

晚飯後, 我上網閱讀新聞, 查看信箱, 也上臉書看看朋友近況, 跟上傳的照片, 之後, 打屁式的回應了一些朋友的訊息. 在瀏覽了一會兒後, 我突然想起, 或許臉書上有逸仙國小的網頁.  在輸入”逸仙國小”後, 果真找到學校的網頁.  看著校園的現景, 跟記憶中的景象截然不同, 我從書櫃上找出一本有著紅色封套的黑白相簿 - 我的小學畢業紀念冊. 

翻著一頁頁泛黃的照片, 勾起了我的思緒.  山腳下的校園, 榕樹林立, 山坡裏的小溪, 瀰漫著濃濃的硫磺味.  後山的廚房, 冒著陣陣白煙, 蒸的是我們這些莘莘學子的便當. 盛夏蟬鳴震天, 卻掩蓋不了學童的嘻笑聲, 彷彿間, 我好像又回到了兒時的這段黃金時光. 

在網頁的一角, 我看到有校友的留言, 心想, 說不定有老同學留話.  我一篇篇的看下去, 咦, 這個名字很熟! 但是照片上的人我卻不認識, 我翻了紀念冊兩次, 但是卻找不到留話的人. 他寫下的畢業年份和我相同, 我回應了他的留話, 同時又再翻了一次紀念冊, 腦海中確實是有印象, 只是他人不在紀念冊中. 

我回應後不久, 就收到了回音.  “老宋”, 的確是我小學的同學, 之所以在紀念冊中找不到他, 是因為他在五年級時轉了學校. 真多虧他這麼有心, 留下了訊息, 在短短幾天中, 我已經連絡上五位同學.  我們這一群昔日的小學同學, 現在都是中年人了,  我希望跟這些老友來日能有見面寒暄的機會,  讓我能在人生旅程中, 寫下另一頁記憶.

"Excuse me"

Our kids wear out their shoes in a matter of few a weeks, Gogo is especially notorious. Some of his shoes didn't even last a month. For gym activities, we purchase them better constructed shoes. For casual walking, Walmart shoes serve them just fine. I wear Walmart brand shoes and I know they don't wear out that quickly. 

Last weekend, we took the boys out shopping for groceries and stopped by the shoe department at Walmart. We went about our usual route which included stopping by the electronic goods and the toys sections. After some 20 minutes of store browsing, we got to the shoe department. I went across the aisle to get a new pair of sunglasses. Hey, Made in Taiwan, and they were comfortable when I tried them on. Gogo and Didi were looking at different styles of shoes with their mom. 

After getting what we needed, we proceeded to check-out then headed home. Later that evening my wife told me something that happened during our shoe shopping at Walmart. "An elder lady said to me - Your son is very polite, he said "excuse me" and waited before passing in front of my shopping cart", my wife said with a smile. 

I too, was smiling when I heard this.

有朋自遠方來 - 4

Had the temperature been a few degrees higher, we would probably be BBQing outside. Nevertheless, the cool weather was perfect for hotpot. I gather that most of you have seen our hotpot photos. If a picture is worth a thousand words, imagine being in one of our parties. Our rule is simple when we host a hotpot gathering - food aplenty and keep the flow going.

My wife had begun the prep work the day before. Food items were cut, chopped, diced, thawed...ready to be cooked and eaten.  It was a matter of setting up the placemats and putting out the utensils. As DP and SP sat and relaxed, I began setting up the table. It was a relatively small gathering this time, only three other families were invited. Two hotpots were fired up shortly after 5 pm. The soup stock didn't take long to boil and soon I began dropping in ingredients. 

One thing I really love about having hotpot is that you don't need to know how to cook. No recipes to follow, no flames to control and it's nearly impossible to burn anything. Our guests for the evening began to arrive. We introduced our friends to DP and SP. We all gathered around the table to enjoy the "small" feast. Our bowls were filled, emptied, and filled again, as we chatted. The spectrum of talk topics seemed endless. SP and one of our friends actually share the same alma mater, how about that!

DJT became all chocked at one point, not because of our excellent hospitality, rather, the 1/3 scoop of 麻辣傳奇 set her lips ablaze and put her in tears. Did I forget to warn her? Oops! Although wine didn't exactly flow but the soup from the hotpot sure continued. Our dinner lasted almost 3 hours, wait, there was more to come! Fruits & Desserts!! If you want to be fed, treat yourself to a restaurant. If you want to be well-fed, come to the Lus'.

As with all great parties that had to come to an end, this hotpot gathering was no exception. All of our friends have small children and they don't negotiate when they are tired. Slowly, one family after another,  we saw them to their cars. When the steam finally cleared, it was close to 9 pm. The tag team began to go to work, it didn't take long before we had it all cleaned up. We chatted with DP & SP for a short while before DP excused himself and retired for the evening. We sat around the kitchen table and formed a small tea party with SP. When you have great conversations, you don't want them to end. 

Unfortunately our guests had to hit the road fairly early the next day to begin their 500-mile trip back home. Cinderella's carriage had all but one hour to spare when  we said "晚安" to SP.  A quick shower made me fall asleep even faster. It was for sure an eventful day. 

Captain Lu's log began early Sunday morning with a fresh pot of coffee. My wife wanted to fuel our guests before their departure, she picked up some breakfast items for them as well as our family. I knew DP couldn't wait to load up his cargo and head home. Shortly after breakfast I helped him with his new toys. Yup, my advice was correct, it took every square inch in the van's cargo area to hold the loot. 

I gathered the kids and everyone in our living room for a couple of quick snapshots. "Have a safe trip home!", both my wife and I called out as DP & SP pulled back from our driveway. 

有朋自遠方來 - 不亦樂乎!! I said to myself.

有朋自遠方來 - 3

Saturday morning rolled along rather quickly. I had a great chat with his excellency - Duke Chu but it was time to feed the animals – cats, goldfish, wife & kids and our guests, in no particular order. Oh, time to introduce our boys to their new uncle and aunt. Our younger son had briefly met DP and SP (that’s what DJT calls herself) the night before, it was our older son’s first encounter. In his typical Johnny Mnemonics tone, Gogo greeted our guests. I could tell Didi was already plotting out his day’s adventures with our visitors. I served DP and SP a freshly brew pot of coffee. I thought our kids were easy to feed, this happy couple required almost no attention at all. Coffee and breakfast cereal, how easy was that?!

My Mrs. had gone to her hair appointment early in the morning, leaving me as the CEO - Chief Entertainment Officer. Hmm, what to do with a couple of out of towners? I was looking through some local ads in the newspapers, just so happened that Fry's ads were right in front of me. I asked if DP & SP would like to go browse around Fry's. Fry's is a very large consumer electronic goods store, in case you are wondering. An average Fry's store occupies about the size of a football field. Some stores are as large as three football fields! The easy-going couple was happy with any arrangement. They'd probably be happy if I just took them to McDonald's to sit and chat.

The store is just minutes from our home. A couple of turns after we got off the freeway brought us right to the parking lot. I was sure DP would be amazed once he got inside. It's literally a candy store for techie geeks like myself and DP. I was hoping SP wouldn't get bored after a few minutes inside the store. We got in, my kids knew exactly where they wanted to go - gaming section, where else? I asked the two of them to stay together as I accompanied DP & SP around the store. DP knew where he wanted to go, the home audio area. SP wanted to check out notebooks that were on sale, so we split up.

After some 20 minutes, just before 11 am, I called to see if my Mrs. had completed her makeover. "Not quite" she said, we decided to meet at the restaurant at around 11: 30 am. DP & SP had insisted on treating us to a nice lunch. Like they hadn't fed us enough since their arrival. So we cruised around the store a little more. I didn't have much on my shopping list but I did pick up a blu-ray movie title. Kids were happy to play the demo games without spending a dime. DP bought a few things for his new sound system. By the time we got to the restaurant, my wife had already secured a table for us. This place gets packed within 30 minutes after opening every weekend. It wasn't some fancy steak house, in case you are wondering.

This restaurant is a smorgasbord of many ethnic foods. While serving mainly Chinese dishes, sushi, BBQ ribs, steaks, questillas, udon, and even mac n cheese are all on the menu. Some 45 minutes later I was ready to head home for a nap. The weather was warm and too nice  to stay at home though, so we decided to visit a neaby outdoor mall after a short rest. DP was antsy to hit the mall but Didi needed a little time for his stomach to settle. After a short rest, the six pack of us hit the road again. 

There are 4 strip malls within a 10 mile radius from where we live. The closest mall is only about 3 miles away. There are a few small department stores and an IMAX theater there. It was just past 2 pm when we got to the mall. At ~ 12C, it was warm enough to go store-hopping in an outdoor mall.

We were pleasantly surprised to learn that there were some activities going on that day. Traffic was redirected to allow shoppers cross some of the busier streets. A stage was set up for performances - singing, dancing, and even live music! Street vendors of sorts were selling & soliciting goods, services. Our kids led their new uncle and aunt inside a candy store. I would prefer that the boys didn't get any candy, but I did give in when DP & SP offered to get them small tubes of powdered candy. Kids didn't waste any time tasting the colorful assortment of the sandy stuff.
We strolled along the sidewalks, tried to absorb in the sun rays when possible.

A small crowd gathered around a juggler and an ice sculptor was carving up a large chunk of ice with his slew of tools not far away. A street hockey rink was built for kids to dissipate their overabundant energy. I urged our sons to be careful as the two brothers wanted to test out their slapping skills eagerly. There were some 8-10 kids swinging hockey sticks in all directions, none of them paying any attention.  Talk about a parent's worst nightmare. We were lucky that after several minutes of play, our sons stepped out of the rink without a single bruise.

We continued our mall adventure when we heard some loud laughter coming from the stage so we headed back to take a look. "What the heck is this?", we saw three performers in large, blow-up suits. "What? The Zooperstars?", the sign that listed the afternoon's performances. I certainly had never heard of them. The trio danced to the music, interacted with the audience, kids in particular. We stood and watched their acts for almost 20 minutes. Some were quite hilarious. 

"Ha..ha..ha..", DJT's trademark was heard several time despite the loud music. We all had a great time. We we slowly walked out way back to the car. It was a few minutes before 4 pm when we returned home.
Yup, it was time to get ready for the night's feast.

有朋自遠方來 - 2

I put on a sweater and went out the front door to greet our guests from far far away. The long trip (~ 12 hrs) didn’t dim their pleasant smiles by the least bit. I thought about rolling out the red carpet but couldn’t find a piece of red rug long enough. Nevertheless, I helped DJT and DP with their belongings AND the goodies they had brought us. Under the front porch light I saw DJT clearly for the first time, yeah, she is definitely “close” to her claimed age. 

 

My wife welcomed in our guests and we had a three-way hug. I have often mentioned DJT to my wife, that she has also read DJT’s responses to my FB postings. There was never that “awkward strangers in the same room” feeling, even though we were meeting face to face for the very first time. 

DJT had shown me photos of the goodies she had bought, well, I wasn’t expecting a container full of them yummies! Wait, there was another large bag of snacks, wow! Looking at the completely full kitchen island, my stomach began to growl. Oh, I hadn’t eaten yet! We thanked them for their kind gestures and led them to our family room to get some rest. 

My wife being the excellent hostess that she usual is, chatted with her expatriates (for two days anyway) while I made tea for them. Meanwhile, simmering in the soup bowl, my 4-pack Ramen dinner. 

We asked how their drive was, “Not too bad. After we found our way back to the freeway and got through the checkpoint, it was rather easy actually.” DP replied. From there on, we talked about anything that came to mind. Every so often DJT would exercise her healthy lungs, “哈..哈..哈”, just like I had heard numerous times eavesdropping in the chat room conversations. 

It may not be the best tool to judge a person’s true character, but I think one’s laugh does show the individual’s personality, perhaps deeper than we think. “Open-minded, warm, uninhibited” would be my assessment on DJT, “爽朗”, if you will. DP on the other hand, doesn’t quite have the decibels as his better half. Nevertheless, I could tell that he is very easy-going, sincere, and witty.

We sat and chatted for quite a while. 

I actually don’t remember how I finished my dinner, maybe in several bites? I showed DJT and DP the guest bedroom upstairs, their sleeping quarter for the night and the next day.  “Good-night”, we said to one another, as we retired for the evening. “Tomorrow is going to be a great day!” 

-          Stay tuned

有朋自遠方來

Most of the trees in our neighborhood are now bare-naked, with the exception of the conifer trees. Seasonal birds began their migratory route as the northern wind rolled in. It only seemed like yesterday when children were out in full force for their Halloween Trick or Treating. Streets now sit empty with occasional traffic. Winter season has begun.

One of my favorite songs 機 場, by 薛 岳 interprets it the best - 熱 帶 的 人 們 永 遠 不 懂  下 雪 的 冬 季. How true is that?! While there may not be any remedy to cure the winter blues, a steaming hotpot will surely help combat the winter cold. If there is one thing my wife and I love as much as having a hotpot, is hosting a hotpot gathering. We hosted our first hotpot gathering some 3 or 4 years ago. Since, it has become a family tradition for us.

A visit from two great friends north of the border helped kick off our winter tradition this year. Known to many of her online friends as DJT – 大姐頭, had finally decided to pay us a visit. It took some coercing and bribery, lo and behold, she and her better half, known as DP, booked a rental van and plotted their routes. The trip didn't start out as planned for the duo, as they got lost on the interstate's loopy loops. By the time they found their way, the traffic was at a standing still - Canadian & American border checkpoint. 

I'm not sure how they maintained their sanity sitting idling for several hours. I remember calling them to check on their trip progress. At close to 1 pm, this happy pair had finally infiltrated into the American territory! Without a Marauder's Map like Harry (Potter), I could only guesstimate their whereabouts. At around 5:30 pm, just as I was debating whether or not to hit the gym and spike it up, then the phone rang. DJT with her trademark 中氣十足 voice informed me that they were getting close to Fort Wayne, which would place them ~ 2.5 hours from our place.  

Woo-hoo, I could go and play volleyball for a couple of hours before the Mounties’ arrival, awesome!  Old grasshopper packed up his gym bag, laced up his gym shoes, passed, bumped, set, spiked and worked up a good sweat. I checked the clock on the wall and hopped in the shower to freshen up. Wouldn’t want to offend our long-distance guests now, at least not on the “first date”. 

I got home and rested for a while, it was about 9 pm then. “Hmm…where in the world are the two Waldos?”, I thought to myself. I peeked out the windows every time a car drove by, nope, not that one. It wasn’t until well past 9:30 pm before a mini-van slowly came down our street. Still, not quite sure if our guests had arrived, I stood and waited by the windows. 

The van drove past our front door very slowly, it almost stopped but kept rolling. I was able to catch a glance at the Ford logo and the “foreign” license plate – Ontario! “It took them long enough, and they overshot our house.”, I stood by the door, waiting for them to come around. A couple of minutes passed and the van came around the corner, FINALLY! 

I called out to my Mrs. “They’re here!”. Two strangers stepped out of the van, one of them actually looked familiar – from the back side. Yup, that’s DJT all right!

Part II to follow...