Oh my post titles don’t make any sense to you either? Glad I’m not the only one. (The next post I write/have written is a Joey update so please come back).
I can’t lie. I’ve been avoiding this little place on the interweb. I sometimes don’t know what words to use to entirely and effectively capture exactly what it is that we experience in China on a daily basis. Part of this is because there may not be English words that totally grasp Chinese culture and also because my Chinglish is mostly (all) English. We have good and bad days living in this world that is so alien to us. Some days it feels like there have only been bad days for weeks haha. How small our perspective gets when we allow ourselves to be smothered in the d i f f i c u l t nuances of daily life eh?
I don’t know if you’ve heard of emotional rollercoasters? My name is Ana Middleton and I am a permanent resident. (hello, not pregnant fyi – I know you were thinking it)
Today was the single best day I have had at school. Really though, today I had time to spend with each one of my kids and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Alsoooo, I introduced my kids to George Winston during morning quiet time and THEY ASKED to listen to him throughout the day. This music soothes my soul. I know it is wayyyyy too early for Christmas music (but is it really? I SUBMIT NO JOEY MIDDLETON) but you haveto/needto/cannotgoanylonger without listening to his version of Carol of the Bells. Also Thanksgiving. Run to youtube I beg of you.
Fridays are sweet because we have a school wide assembly in the morning and every other Friday we go swimming with the other kindergarten class and generally have a blast. Sidenote: homework apparently does not just exist for students canigetawitness fellow teachers. AND the point of this paragraph is hello today was an awesome day at school.
This evening we went on a walk with some good people friends. Like they are good friends and they are good people and that makes them honorary family (at least in my mind – this is my blog I’LL CLAIM WHO I WANT). We followed said walk with a restaurant where we walked in and they served us free margaritas. Why yes I’ll come back every Friday. customerforlife. (see how I hashtagged without a hashtag there? I don’t know who I am anymore – somebody take away my parentheses button).
So we walk in, sit down and I look up and there in front of my eyes are the Toronto Blue Jays playing the Yankees IN THE SKYDOME. Immediately, then and now, the waterworks made a solid appearance. Literally this is what I was thinking in my head:
– Ana stop crying this is embarassing. oh you can’t control yourself? sourry. i forgot.
– all those people are all Canadian and they are all sitting together at the SKYDOME
– what is the time difference? is it toonie tuesday?
– wait. are the blue jays actually winning? God truly loves me and my broken soul
– is that an ice cap?
– why are there so many people? its a jays game.
– why am I caring about this so much right now I literally hate baseball games on tv
– look at all those happy canadian people. they’re so beautiful.
– oh thank you God, it switched to nascar so I don’t have to torture myself any longer. wait what is more ‘murican than nascar? football. thank GOD this is not football.
– it is 4 hours later. are you seriously still crying about this? yes. yes you are. PULL IT TOGETHER MAN. [name that movie]
and then the floodgates were unleashed.
Takeaway: I should not think while crying ever.
I ordered waffle fries and chicken tenders. They were the best and first waffle fries I’ve had this side of the Atlantic, Pacific, Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean. Can anything ever compare to chick-fil-a? The answer you should be thinking or you should stop reading this blog immediately is no. But for real, they were on. point.
I should blog more often because I get wordy when I don’t and also when I do. TOO MANY UNRESTRAINED THOUGHTS.
You’ve made it all the way to the end? DANG. Impressed.
Please be gentle in your presumptions and judgements. Sometimes doing the absolute best that you can literally takes everything you have to give. I may presume to much in asking for grace. I’m a fallen human being saved by grace, striving, aching for, desiring, pursuing more of Him. The problem with me is there is too much of me and not enough of Him. never enough.