Ho Ho Ho-ng Kong Christmas Begins

Auntie Bri lives in Hong Kong!  (How cool is she?! Yeah, super cool!)  And that means one thing - Ho Ho Ho-ng Kong Christmas!  With 6 bags and 3 knapsacks in tow, we navigated from the airport to the city center on the train where Bri met us and then had to endure the painstaking indecision and inertia of 5 exhausted humans!  She treated us to a delicious Thai dinner (during which Isabelle slept)

The jet lag awakening happened at 1am, and now, 15 hours later, we're just beginning to feel a bit weary.  Isabelle spent the wee hours hugging Horton the kitty (the non-shy kitty, she calls him), drawing, eating oatmeal, and waiting for Nana and Grampy to awaken in order to deliver the newspaper.  "Grampy loves the news paper! He's retired! So he can read all the words on all the pages!"

We're staying in two 3-bedroom apartments on Robinson Road - high up on The Peak, an incredibly posh address in town, we quickly learned.  "This is a great place.  I think we should live here," Isabelle announced moments after arriving and discovering the playroom (filled with bean bag chairs, art supplies, a trampoline, scooter and panda bear iPod speaker) and 5-year-old Katie's bedroom (complete with a 3-story dollhouse and special note from Katie herself directing Isabelle to a secret cubby stuffed with stuffed animals). Before leaving for Christmas in Vermont, Katie and her parents (amazing mom Jen went to college with Dennis), thought up - and wrapped up - more goodies for us than we can believe.

Our out-and-about part of the day started at 8am with a walk down The Peak, past the Foreign Correspondents' Club, through Central's elevated walkway to Victoria Harbor where we boarded the Star Ferry for Kowloon.

On our first full day in Hong Kong, over a dim sum breakfast in Kowloon, Isabelle tells us, "I'm getting my world confused.  I thought we were in Abu Dhabi.  Or Africa."  We were surrounded by locals eating congee (rice porridge) and sipping tea, and indulged in Sui Mai (pork dumplings), Har Cheung Fun (shrimp rolls), and - as a special treat inspired by the table next to us - Ma Lai Go (steamed sponge cake).

Always on the to-do-list in a new country is finding a globe in the local language for Isabelle's globe collection.  Success comes quickly on this trip thanks to the Yue Hwa Chinese Products Emporium (MTR Jordan stop).

Back to HK Island for lunch with Aunti Bri! Her Wyndham Street work address is described as HK's hottest new social strip.  Taped on her office walls are two fantastic quotes:  "Ships in the harbor are safe.  But that's not what ships are for."  And my favorite:  "If things don't feel out of control, you're not moving fast enough."  Thank you Mario Andretti.

Lunch next to "our" gym - PURE - on the Central-Mid-levels escalators in the SoHo district.  The escalator system is AWESOME!  It is the longest (outdoor, covered - always love the qualifiers) escalator system in the world.  It has 20 escalators and 3 moving sidewalks.  It is without a doubt one of the most creative transportation solutions I've ever seen.

Grocery store adventures ensue - chickens with the head and feet attached are a big hit with me, but not with Grampy who is unable to down the dinner after catching a glimpse of the whole, dead bird.  More adventures post-dinner as Auntie Bri and I hit The Fong - the city's big party area.  Details withheld.  Isabelle was up at 3am,  and ready to leave for Hong Kong Disneyland!

Ukelele Girl

Isabelle came home from ukelele lessons playing "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer."  This was a truly great day.

Polar Express

Before we boarded the Polar Express, we didn't know much about the story. We'd never seen the movie, and although we own the book, it only came out at Christmastime, and wasn't nearly as popular as The Nutcracker or How The Grinch Stole Christmas.

For this ride, we were focused on the magic of belief and wonder - we were after all, traveling from Buzzard's Bay direct to the North Pole in less than an hour!  What we discovered, though, was something even more beautiful:  Compassion.

The hobo who features prominently in Polar Express became the pivotal character in our adventure.  More interesting, even, than Santa and his elves.

Before taking our tickets, the Conductor told us to be on the lookout for this hobo, and to be able to provide him with details about the hobo's looks and whereabouts.  Was the Conductor trying to help us empathize with this man who was so clearly down on his luck?  No, it became clear - the Conductor wanted to catch him and reprimand him for not having a ticket.

The hobo was dirty from head to toe.  His clothes were tattered - tape held his coat together, while patches covered the holes in his jeans.  With a handkerchief sack tied to a stick and slung over his shoulder, he was quite a sad sight walking through the train.

After being caught, the hobo sat far from everyone else - alone.  Until Isabelle insisted on going to talk with him.  If he needed a ticket, maybe she could get him one for Christmas.  And she had lots of questions:  Do you live on the train? (I am trying to) Were you on the roof of the train? (Yes) Where were you living before you got on the train? (In the woods)  Are you able to eat?  (Sometimes)  Where were you living before living in the woods? (With my mother) Where does your mother live? (Boston)


Later, he told us:  When she writes her book, I want to read it.

When you ask most parents what they want for their children, the answer is often - happiness.  But how exactly is happiness achieved?  And what kind of guidebook are we as parents supposed to provide for attaining it?

I recently read the Dalai Lama's book, Beyond Religion, in which he talks about the kind of happiness that comes from empathy and compassion.

Empathizing with someone in distress, he writes, shows courage, and courage imparts confidence.

It is through giving warmth and affection, through being genuinely concerned for others - in other words, through compassion - that we gain the conditions for genuine happiness.  For this reason, loving is of even greater importance than being loved.

The Dalai Lama continues, When compassion, or warmheartedness, arises in us and shifts our focus away from our own narrow self-interest, it is as if we open an inner door.  Compassion reduces fear, boosts our confidence, and brings us inner strength.  By reducing distrust, it opens us to others and brings a sense of connection with them and a sense of purpose and meaning in life.  Compassion also gives us respite from our own difficulties.

If in the film, the hobo represents doubt of the Christmas spirit, on our train he came to epitomize the Christmas spirit.

Compassion, the Dalai Lama writes, means wanting to do something to relieve the hardships of others, and this desire to help, far from dragging us further into suffering ourselves, actually gives us energy and a sense of purpose and direction.  

I like the direction Isabelle is heading, and the sense of purpose that moved her to the back of the train to reach out to - not an actor - but an impoverished elderly man who was alone at Christmas.

The Frenulum Problem

We seem to have survived our first internet porn experience.  On the way hone from dropping Anna off (after a wonderful day at Plimoth Plantation and a post-plantation playdate), Isabelle wanted to know how the tongue is attached to the body.  I told her about the frenulum - the skin underneath the tongue that connects it to the bottom of the mouth.  "I'll show you pictures when we get home," I said.  "How?" she asked.  "On the internet."

Easy enough.  Google search.  Images.  Frenulum.  And here it comes:  male anatomy pictures.  Lots and lots of male anatomy pictures...

First Love

Three years ago, Isabelle fell in love with band-aids.

What began as a mild fascination with princess band-aids quickly blossomed into a full-blown obsession with adhesives of all shapes, sizes and prints--Tinkerbell, Hello Kitty, Dora, Barbie and Ariel.  Even the flesh-colored "adult" band-aids were treated like gold.

Band-aids weren't just to stop the bleeding, they were pain relief.  Band-aids brought happiness.  Band-aids were fun.

Walk through the house on any given day, and you will find band-aid wrappers strewn about... on the stairs, under the kitchen cabinets, beside the beds.

Earlier this week when I gave myself a deep cut while slicing a carrot, Isabelle flew in from the next room declaring, "I'm here! I'm here!  I will get the band-aid!"  Upstairs, downstairs in a flash.  She insisted on applying it.

Later that evening while we were reading in bed, she wanted to cover a hangnail on her middle finger.  Again, she insisted on applying the band-aid herself -- a Cinderella one that she wrapped effortlessly.

Once it was on, she stared at it.  "You know," she began.  "The problem is that when you put a band-aid on your finger, it doesn't really stay.  It slips up and falls off.  See? It's moving already!"

Pause.

"And that's why I don't like band-aids."

Band-aid magic lived.  Band-aid magic lost.

Frankenstorm

Bat girl today, Golden Rapunzel tomorrow!  And throw in a little Weather Girl.

With Frankenstorm brewing, our Weather Girl informs us, "Everyone in the world thinks it is going to rain on Halloween."  Probably right.

NOAA's Coastal Services Center chief says to expect "bodacious impacts"  - uh, really?  Bodacious?

Here's what more aptly adjective prepared experts are saying:  Hurricane Sandy could make Katrina look like a rain shower...Could be the worst storm in a century...$1 billion in damages... might flood NYC subways.  Full moon-powered high tides mean big waves turn into giant ones. It's a worst case scenario, they say.

Schools (and Principle Pictures offices) are closed for the day.  The fridge is stocked and the generator is ready-to-go.    

What do you think of the storm, Isabelle?  "I think I should dance in the rain!"  Yes.  Yes you should.