10:17 p.m. - 2003-09-14
Family Day
Busy day today unexpectedly. That was good. Number one son arrived with the grandbabies in tow around lunch time. He hasn't been able to operate his car for the past few months because there just wasn't enough money coming in. He's doing fine now though. It was obvious that his stress level had really been reduced by being able to drive again. I traveled by bus with my guys when they were pre-schoolers and it is really tiring both for them and for you. I have nothing but admiration for the young parents I see every morning and evening rush hour caring for their little ones. Some of those babies are coping with 12 hours days or better every work day. A lot of them behave better than some of the adults on transit.
The kittens now have the run of the upstairs except for my room. When the grandbabies arrived, I decided we'd watch to see if they and kittens could play well together. They all managed very well. My grandson wore out a couple of the kittens as well as himself, playing the ribbon game. My granddaughter just enjoyed the cuddling.
My oldest son was quite content to sit on the couch with my youngest and watch "The Two Towers". Since both boys have an intimate knowledge of the books, the commentary was quite entertaining. They each have parts of the books that they've memorized and they were a bit indignant when the movie didn't remain true to the story. While we - me and the grandbabies - were waiting for the movie to end, I pulled up some websites with pictures and information for the grandbabies on the place their Mom was born in Northwestern British Columbia. They haven't had a chance to visit there yet, but it doesn't mean they can't learn more about their heritage.
Around supper time, my second son and his partner arrived. They had been for supper at her parents' home and came bearing gifts from her Mom. A giant zucchini and aspen-willow fruit(in English). The fruit is supposed to be good for your eyesight and is believed to be an adaptogen. It tastes a bit sweet and a bit peppery at the same time.
My daughter-in-law's father starts chemotherapy tomorrow and will be in treatment for about five weeks. The bank that she works for has given her leave for the days he has to go in for treatment, so she seemed a bit more relaxed about the issue. She borrowed one of my Chinese medicine texts, because it was in both languages. There was some information she wanted to pass on to a couple of friends, as well as work through with her Mom. I have one text, the "Huang Ti Nei Ching" (Yellow Emperor's Classic), which is the oldest known written treatise on Traditional Chinese Medicine. It is believed that it was written about 3000 years ago. My daughter-in-law said the Chinese characters used are ancient and found it a bit difficult to read. I, of course, opt for the English translation, but it is good to know that I could check the original text against the translation if I needed to.
I found a book by a Chinese author, Gao Xingjian, called "Soul Mountain" that won the Nobel Prize for Literature. It is the story of a Chinese author whose lung cancer went into remission. At the same time, he is threatened with time on a prison farm by China's regime that continues the "cultural revolution". He flees and decides to travel through China to find the legendary Lingshan - Soul Mountain. It sounds so much like P's father's real life experiences that I suggested she give it to him for something to concentrate on while he is receiving chemotherapy. He can't read well enough in English. I have to go to Chinatown this week so maybe I'll see if one of their bookstores carries it in Cantonese. I need some kind of new adventure and this one even would be useful. I love charades.
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