Sick kid, runaway dog, disorganised business, school pick-ups and classes... it's been quite a week. I should be pushing ahead with class preparation and organising product descriptions and lists, but I really wanted to update the family about life here. So, here goes, the power-post.
Dog: Skippy is a great dog, really. He just has this really really REALLY bad habit of running off when we are not paying attention. He has found the chicken farm and restaurant down the bottom of the hill, which means at least I know where he goes. But, having a dog hang around the prep area of the restaurant is not ideal, especially as in Taiwan it is habit to prepare food like raw chickens on the concrete ground outside. At least Skippy likes his doghouse and will settle down in there for the night. For a dog with three legs, he sure can run fast!
Hannah: My little girl has been home for the week, with a throat infection and fever. She is actually well on the mend today, and will have to come to school with me in the afternoon when I teach. There is nothing like a child at home to put constant interruption and chaos into a day. Everything around me is suffering. But, at least she can stay home and get better. When I think of all those parents still looking for their children in Japan after the tsunami, I realise how terrible it is to think "I wish I had some time alone." We are so lucky to have our children by our sides.
Kyle: This morning, Kyle is off to compete in an inter-school dance contest. Dad was a bit late getting him to school and his poor teacher called me in a panic. I reassured her he would be there. With such small class sizes, your child becomes a very important of every team, group, and community he or she joins. I think this is a really good thing when the children are so young, to feel needed and not easily replaced.
Kyle is also in the school percussion group, which will perform in April. He wasn't happy about it as the teacher gave him the cymbals. This week, the child playing the big drum didn't want to play anymore, so Kyle got his dream of playing the drum fufilled. Now, he LOVES percussion group. On Sundays, Kyle goes to table tennis, and that seems to be going well, too. The biggest challenge of all is for his mum to remember where he needs to go and where. Again, the positives of a small school come out. All these activities are free and taught by professional teachers/coaches from outside the school.
Business: It seems to be picking up a bit, which wouldn't be hard compared to last year. If only I had hours at a time free to think and arrange and update and promote. With kids around, you only get a minute or so before someone calls, which makes it hard to sit down and really concentrate on the hard stuff. With Richard going on a 10-day business trip recently, both kids sick (one after the other) and now Richard having to spend Saturdays at the car repair shop to fix his van (involved in four-car crash), as well as traveling to the inlaws' two days a week, I'm really running on the reserve battery. I often think of that line that became the slogan for bullying: It only gets better. Maybe tomorrow, I will get to sleep in after 6am, go to sleep before 1am, sleep all night or at least three hours straight without an interruption, or even go out alone. If not, at least I have people big and little in my life who need me. And a dog...
