Thursday, October 20, 2022
We wake early and are on the road to Canada before 7:00 a.m.
It's an easy commute: our moms live just across the border. On the way, I eat Keelee McGee's vanilla cookies. So good that I have to share with W .... though I realize how much I loved him because I do. hehe
We start with a drop-by to W's mom and then drive under an hour to my hometown and Mom's house. We make calls, notably to my 92-year-old Uncle Erich in Winnipeg, whom I have loved since childhood.
Friday-Saturday
It's busy. W meets with his family most of Friday. I run +20 flights of steps a day, up and down and around at Mom's: watering plants, doing laundry, fetching tea, and cooking. We chat together in the evenings.
Generally, I'm helping Mom sort through possessions and memories ."Either you dispose of it or someone else will decide where it goes," I encourage her.
I sort cookbooks, too.
Mom harvested enormous garlic bulbs and shallots this summer. I take a few along.
My brother Norm is pretty much the rock around Mom since Dad died 2 years ago. He and I finally schedule a trip to the cemetery. (Well, his rock-star admin Sandy schedules it.) We're choosing a tombstone for Dad (and Mom when she dies). The power is down in the cemetery office so the gal advises us to come back later. "No way. It's taken us nearly 2 years to get here today."
I hand over the sketch of what we want.
She asks the standard questions and we fill in the blanks:
- Stone or metal? Stone.
- This color or that one? This one.
- White paint or not? Paint.
- This size or that? That.
- Add engraved flowers and other "stuff"? No thanks.
I wonder: why do the dead have the best views in Chilliwack?
Later, Mom pulls out pictures and reminds me who's who. These are her maternal grandparents, Jakob and Blondina Gross along with a cousin. We think it's Roger, who did the Schmidt family genealogy a few years ago.
Here her sister Amalia is singing with girlfriends in the late 1940s or early 50s.
My maternal grandpa Fredrich Schmidt died of lung cancer on my 13th birthday. He was a heavy smoker in his youth, before he became a follower of Jesus. Grandma was widowed once more before her third husband outlived her.
In the afternoon, Elaine and I meet downtown for coffee together. It's her 60th birthday on Monday. Can't miss that! We haven't seen each other for years but I'm honored that she makes time for me.
One of my jobs is to see that everyone who has memories of a certain "something" at Mom's gets it. I labeled things two years ago but the labels fell off. Now I take pictures and send the options to her kids and grandkids.
I do some last-minute tidying before Norm brings sushi for supper. Mom and I chat and pray together as usual. She's rallying - she was very weak and frail before our visits but seems to have gained some strength with regular meals and time to heal. Painkillers help, too.
Saturday
I cook breakfast and lunch. Do last-minute chores. We have a precious prayer time together and take selfies before W and I leave.
We're late for supper with W's family at C-Food Lovers, which has excellent fish and chips.
We get to Seattle after 8:00 p.m. We unpack before sleeping, stacking the last few things that we'll put into suitcases on Monday.
Sunday
The kids are over for a sleepover, a noisy fun occasion while their parents slip away for a date night. My parents used to do that for our kids.
The fun starts after church. We take the kids to Costco for pizza, hot dogs, sundaes, and pop. Once a year with their parents' permission, we totally wreck their nutritious meal plan. And make sure they are stuffed to the gills.
One of our favorite stops with them is Half Price Books. The first one we go to has nothing. We drive across town to the second HPB, full of "good stuff" for the kids. By evening, we're all tired.
My mom sent candles along: red stars for the girls and green for the boys. We light the candles and turn off the lights as we read Bible stories and listen to scripture together before bedtime.
Kinsey asks for a tea after breakfast. She arranges the tea tray and carries it to the table. The antique teacups are family heirlooms. We split a muffin and chocolate cookie from Keelee's baking gift; the pieces are huge and we've just had a big meal. A taste and tea are more than enough.
Before we came from Indonesia, W found a Lego set at a garage sale. That keeps them busy for most of the day. W catches up on his computer while I clean the flat.
Kinsey asks me to transcribe a violin introduction of a song she wants to play next Easter. Good thing she has time to practice. It's full of slides and uses all the strings. Good luck, girl!
It takes me almost an hour. I can't find my staff paper notebook so W prints a few pages. It's written in half-time (eighth notes into quarters, etc.) which may be easier for a beginner to read.) It takes ages because it's played very quickly (we slow it down on YouTube), has jumpy improvisations (I listen over and over to get the notes - yay for perfect pitch), and has syncopated rhythms. Sadly, I don't have time to write out the song's entire violin part. (And I don't have time to show her the piano chord chart that will get her playing anything her ear can hear. Oh well. next year.)
W drops off 3 packages at the post office while the kids and I visit the Dollar Store (disappointingly devoid of good stuff for kids!) Once we get home, the grandkids put a sheep-skin on the concrete floor by each heater and check out books from the grandparent library. They love to read.
When their parents come back from their date, they take pics of us together. LOVE those kiddos.
After packing and weighing our suitcases, we put them by the staircase. Then we go into Bothell for supper with our beloved youngest son, a feast of tastes. We've eaten well in the USA and not lost a pound.
Tuesday - Wednesday
Timo takes us to SeaTac airport at 6:00a.m. What a good son! He fights traffic all the way home. Seattleites commute to work early in the morning. Timothy explains: "When your company allows flex time, you try to get in really early so you don't sit for an extra hour in traffic jams." Makes sense.
We are on a long flight (15:20 hours) to Singapore as we cross the dateline to Wednesday. It's our first time boarding as "old people." Somehow W bunged up his knee so it's better to board early - besides we have 2 big carry-ons each. In one of mine, I have an old brown ceramic vase I remember from childhood
Mom lets me take it along but cautions me: "You'll eventually leave behind whatever you take to Indonesia."
I know. But I'm arranging flowers in Bandung not in Seattle. A few years of joy are worth it. If I leave it in Chilliwack and something happens to her, it's gone.
We run into our friend Dr Don at the airport. He's headed east; we're flying west.
The lounge breakfast is pretty good.
Unfortunately, the Singapore Airline meals are awful. I have ordered Kosher, which is usually an improvement. The dry chicken, hard bread rolls, and mush of vegetables are a disappointment. And the staff doesn't offer water as they pass with a full tray of glasses. I flag them down a few times for something to drink.
W is in the aisle seat across from me so that we don't have to climb over anyone when we stretch our legs. There's an empty seat in the middle of my central row of 3. Joy (the Indian lady on the other side of the row) and I decide we'll share the empty seat for naps. One sleeps a few hours 2 hours then sit up to watch a movie while the next person stretches out. We alternate who lies down and snoozes. It works well though our legs are drawn up to our chest or dangling over the side of the seat.
Singapore Air rescheduled our layover from one to 13 hours in Singapore. We arrive at dinnertime and stand in line at customer service for an hour. Their staff refuses to help us out, so we use our passes to the lounge for 3 hours (max time) before booking a hotel for 6 hours: 11pm-5am. It's very expensive, but stretching out on a quiet, flat surface is priceless.
Thursday
We catch the final 1:15 flight to Jakarta at 6:30a.m. The food is better - mie sian (noodles). The attendants are quick: they serve and clean up the meal without us feeling rushed. Amazing.
The customs assistant in Jakarta is late. Fortunately he shows up after our easy pass through immigration. We see our Indonesian kids Kristi and Jojo on the curb, just long enough for a morning hug and hello.
We've just missed Darrel and Gail, who fly out of Jakarta a few hours before we arrive. They're going from Bandung to the USA, an opposite trip to us. We heard only positive reports of their interactions while we were away. What a blessing to have trustworthy friends!
The view is spectacular along the toll road, including the train trestle bridges spanning the valleys. Can you spot it? (The line across the left.)
PakG drives the 4+ hours to Bandung (105 miles/160 km). We relax. Overloaded trucks weave in and out. It's a competition of vehicles hitting the gas and brakes. Cars and trucks cut you off then create big gaps in front of them. It's a surging flow, like all of life in Indonesia.
Then we get rear-ended by someone not paying attention in the passing lane. "Should I pull over?" Gum asks. In the rearview, we check the bumper of the car who hit us. There's not much damage and no one is hurt.
"Ah, don't bother. What good would it do?" It would be complicated to get her info, cause a traffic snarl on a busy highway, be dangerous, and slow our way home.
When she passes us in the next lane, Pak G rolls down the window and calls to her, "Hati-hati, Bu!" (Drive carefully, Mrs!)
W snaps a picture of her license plate. Will it be useful? Repairs are generally less expensive than in the West. The guys examine the crushed bumper and pull out the damage as best they can at home.
What a relief to be home before noon. It's taken 40 hours, door to door. Our helpers prepare lunch, which W eats before he falls asleep. I'm not hungry so I don't bother. IbuS has clipped flowers from the garden. She's getting good at arranging them!
When I open the luggage, TSA has done their usual vandalism in our suitcases. This time, someone has opened the TJ Peanut Butter cup box and scattered the chocolate all through the suitcase. It's a partly-melted mess in the tropical heat.
American TSA workers have a reputation for malicious damage, even though they're getting $20/hour to handle baggage. Whatever you do, NEVER put "Fragile" on a package you are checking in. That' guarantees extra throwing and maybe a stomping or two. I'm ashamed of them.
We never knows what TSA will ruin. One year they opened a big Costco bag of baking soda and let it drift through the clothing. Luckily, there's minor damage this trip. The Christmas ornaments have been scattered between things. Some are broken.
While W snoozes, it takes me 5 hours to unpack. When I'm done, the decor for Advent bags are set aside for BIC. Art supplies and greeting cards sit in my office desk. Food is in the kitchen. Tea goes in the cabinet. Updated makeup lands in the bathroom. Clothes and shoes are put away. Feels good.
It's 2a.m. Thursday in Vancouver and 4:00pm Friday in Bandung by the time the suitcases are empty. The helpers take them upstairs.
Juno the labradoodle has settled in while we've been gone. She's gorgeous as her tight shave grows out (accidentally cut SO short by the groomers while I was in a meeting.) I can't stop stroking her soft coat. The rest of the dogs are happy to see us, too.
Home sweet home. There's nowhere like it.
*Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. Deuteronomy 7:9 NIV
*Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23
Moravian Prayer: Covenant-keeping God, where you have remained faithful, we have often proved faithless; where you have been steadfast, we have often looked for a way out of serving you. In your mercy, forgive us and help us once more. Amen.
I’m tired now must rest after reading ❤️ To you both
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