shalom

may the new year bring peace joy laughter and love

and courage faithfulness perseverance and grit

may God bring us closer to one another

in regard kindness gentleness and communion!

tellin' it like it is

the captain announces that we will commence descent in 20 minutes and that the seatbelt sign will come on at that point and he trusts that we have enjoyed the flight and tells us a bit about the destination city and ground temperature and thanks us for support and then signs out.

the flight attendant comes on next with a briefer announcement. this is your last chance to go to the loo, he says. he gets full marks for succinct practicality, is wot i say.

au revoir

and so ends our gloriously extravagantly extended visit with J1 Y Ji J2 and A. all the more precious because we have not spent so much time together since it all broke up at the end of their adolescence, perhaps. the days are gentle unforced and just a little bittersweet for their elusiveness. our children are grown, HOM and i tell each other. they are adults now, with their own families. thank God for that! we say with the relief of asian parents. thank God for that! we whisper with the gratitude of modern realists.

friends

back then music CDs. in later years just walking and talking. as before, there are some gifts i am aware of but cannot put into words. as before i am aware this is one of those ineffable indescribable gifts that can only be received with brokenness and joy, to see a father and his son friends.

morimoto (again)

J1 and Y serendipitously attend a wedding in philly and we hitch a ride to morimoto philly just a block down. it's just HOM and me this time, but it is as magical nevertheless for the shared excitement with J1 and J2 and now also with Y and Ji. 

despite marking special occasions in various locations the world over owing to our itinerant family life, it appears morimoto philly remains a firm favorite for celebrations.

glassa joy

 

we sit around a table, J1 Y and us. it is our joy, we tell them, that our children have become their own people. our inestimable privilege and our undeserved blessing. sláinte.

the snowman

either a statement of supreme irony or extreme kitsch.

another christmas

celebrations get more muted by the year.

i blame age-related enervation time-zone differences and a fearsome respiratory tract infection. plus the inexorable realization that the event we celebrate has been hijacked commercialized and transmogrified while the church was sleeping.

yet thankful i am still for the savior who looked beyond my fault and saw my need.

the apple city

HOM and i are back at a favorite place at a favorite time of the year! 

thankful that we are able to visit again. 

polar bear penelope

wheeee we're goin' places! my little stethoscope mascot from J2 which in full disclosure i hereby confess i hustle for unashamedly.

home goods

where, as J2 says, you end up buying what you didn't know you needed.

cuppa joy

we have a cuppa together, HOM J2 and i, with A in tow. how pleasant, i think. to have left the tumultuous years behind and to have reached an understanding as adults. how pleasant to see your daughter grown into such a strong generous kind and loyal adult! my cup is full today.

cognitive dissonance

the glitter the frenzy the carols-on-a-loop the kisses-and-love

and

the bruised reed the smoldering wick (in)justice and pain

seasonal dress

the neighborhood decor is clearly keeping in with tacky, i guess.

day trip! to merced!

we accidentally chance upon the town christmas parade when we visit for lunch. not to mention three separate craft fairs. with a thrift store and a thrift store that calls itself an antique mall (cue <eyeroll>). and just a 50-minute drive away. a distinct improvement on the christmas fair, if you ask me.

34

glad. grateful. amazed. winded.

i would still choose you again!

babysitting

peeing the baby

changing it

talking to the baby

distracting the baby

walking it

looking at the tomatoes

trying out the swing

repeat from top

mealtime

A swimming in puree.

A swimming in chicken fibers.

A swimming in avocado.

A swimming in yogurt.

HOM and i think to ourselves: feeding an infant sure was different back in the day.

advent

the sermon today is about the first christmas all those years ago back when the political situation was oppressive national morale was low and cultural identity was fractured and the child was born who brought a new and different hope.

what do we look forward to at advent today? the speaker asks. good reminder that, i think. time to recall that it's not all black-friday-cyber-monday deals seasonal carols and all that dreamin' of a white christmas stuff. there's also that little (and deep) matter of the fountain that washed away my sins.

i can look forward to the second coming, i think. although that is rather too abstract. what i look towards at christmas is really easter. because of that fountain.

cambria christmas fair

HOM and i and J2 and Ji and A join the hordes gawking at three million little gawdy lights and drinking over-priced hot chocolate and eggnog-from-a-carton. cambria is picturesque cute even if the fair is a little overhyped. the drive takes three hours each way BUT the in-n-out burger fix on the way home is delicious.