tonight was the monologue and song competition for secondary students at the kids’ school. both boys participated. s13 performed a monologue and chan was part of a skit directed by one of his friends. i am so proud of both boys. the courage and confidence they show is worlds beyond what i had at their age – or even now for that matter.
s13′s monologue
chan’s skit. or parts of it. very small parts of it.
today was the cheerio show at school. this event occurs at the end of every school year – it’s a time to recognise and say goodbye to students and faculty who are leaving. the biggest group of leaving students are the seniors. but there are more than a handful of others who are also going.
today, as part of the celebration, the dance classes performed. a16 is in beginner dance and they busted a groove or two.
then the seniors were recognised
class of 2013
i’m sure i’ll have plenty of more formal pictures of this group come graduation night.
and then we got to see the seniors gift to the world – or at least the rest of the school.
it’s getting to the end of the school year and that means it’s time for everything that needs to get done to get crammed in.
starting with the last band performance of the year. except it’s not really, because the band plays at graduation and i’m pretty sure that’s the latest you can fit a performance in.
i might not be the best at adding arrows to photos. that arrow is pointing somewhere in the vicinity of a16.
and senior prom. i’ve totally stolen pics from chan’s facebook, because i wasn’t invited.
chan and his lovely prom date.
singing something and meaning it
we’ve also had farewell to the leavers at church (it wasn’t actually called that this year, but it has been in the past. and in an effort to sound cool and worldly – and maybe obnoxious – i’m gonna continue to use it.)
these are the folks graduating from chan’s school 
telling who he is and where he’s going
apparently there is a correct graduate prayer posture. i think chan’s almost nailed it.
we’ve still got a busy few weeks ahead of us. and no need to worry about the lack of s13′s appearance in the blog lately – his time is coming.
“but then fall comes, kicking summer out on its treacherous ass” - stephen king salem’s lot.
i am so ready for september.
ok, that’s not totally true. i’m currently eye ball deep trying to plan our family vacation to tokyo. what feels like our last family of five vacation (that may or may not prove true). and i’m liking being the one in control, cuz i’ve been able to throw a few things into the itinerary that i’m pretty sure no one else would have considered. like a meat theme park. that’s made the final cut. a parasitological museum? we’re doing that. and 7 days of just the 5 of us? mastercard got that right – priceless. i’m totally sure it’s going to be worth the crazy way we’re getting there. two of us on one airlines. three on another. different airports and different layovers. memories galore.
but then we head to america. i’ve got a whole lot of mixed feelings about that. i know that the “omg – chan’s going to live in america even after the rest of us return to thailand” situation has me all kinds of out of sorts. (chan is C19′s real name – or at least his real nickname – he’s an adult now. no need to protect him any longer.) but there’s also the perceived expectations i’m already feeling (i bolded perceived on purpose, because i know there’s a slight possibility that it’s all in my head). our time in the states – as a whole – is not a relaxing time for me. it’s a go here, do this, get this done kind of time and by the time it’s over i’m totally ready to get back to my life. my home. my agenda.
it’s not easy to depend on others for almost everything. where are we gonna stay? we can’t afford hotels so we count on friends and family to put us up. we do have plenty of offers and i’m pretty sure none of those offers are given grudgingly. some people like us.
there’s also the getting to and fro? we need to be picked up and delivered to airports. we’ve got doctor’s appointments to make. i’ve got a few courses to attend and michael’s going to need to get to and from work. and sometimes it’s just nice to be able to get away. for one hour (or two or three). alone. or with a kid (or two or three) who need a break because we’re overwhelmed. because america is awesome and at times just way too much to take in.
it feels so ungrateful to whine and complain. we have some of the most generous, amazing friends and family who we know are spending time and money to be there for us. and i am so appreciative of that. i am looking forward to being able to spend time with people who love us and who have loved us for a long time. i crave the heart to heart talks i know we’ll have, the sharing of life that we will do (short as that time might be), and the ability let our guards down – to just be. but the scary part of that is that i’m not sure i know how to do that anymore.
when i crafted my catch up by photo dump post i didn’t give much – or any – detail about my dad’s leg surgery. so i’m gonna fill in a few of the blanks.
my dad was out enjoying his last morning in chiang mai, visiting the market, just taking it easy and minding his own business. my mom had stayed behind to do a little packing and wait for me to get back from working out. once i got home the two of us headed out to grab a cup of coffee (or iced chocolate for her) and do a little reading, but before we could get into the coffee shop my mom got a call from my dad. he was in the emergency room at maharaj nakorn chiang mai hospital. he’d been hit by a car. did i mention he was out and about taking it easy and minding his own business on a motorbike? (a slightly sketchy motorbike at that.) he told us he was certain his leg was broken. my mom and i headed over to the hospital and after finding a parking spot – no small feat – we located the er and then located my dad. he was right about his leg. he had a spiral fracture of the tibia. it was his left leg – he has a history of injuries on that leg.
the orthopaedic resident informed us that surgery was necessary, but that it would take a week or two for them to get around to operating at this hospital. this is a public hospital and the worst cases get seen first. the resident suggested we move my dad to a private hospital. thanks to some quick replies from friends here in chiang mai we were able to connect with an orthopaedic surgeon and get my dad moved to ram hospital just a few minutes down the road from maharaj nakorn chiang mai hospital.
we eventually met with the orthopaedic surgeon. he was hoping to operate that night, but because of my dad’s prior injury and some blood clotting issues in that leg he needed to consult an internal medicine doctor first. my mom and i left our phone numbers at the nurses station and headed home so she could take care of cancelling their flight home, check with traveler’s insurance requirements, and find out the date their visa’s expired. it was 7:30 or so when we made it back to the hospital and my dad was in surgery – they’d wheeled him on down to the internal medicine doctor so she could give her yay or nay. the surgeon came out to speak to us about 10. he said the surgery had gone well and that my dad should be out of recovery in a few hours. he answered my mom’s questions and then we waited for my dad to be rolled out of recovery. they rolled my dad out about midnight and we all headed up to his hospital room. we made sure he was situated and we headed home for some sleep. i was a little alarmed that they hadn’t put a cast on his leg and that they had no intention of casting it at all, but i’ve been told that’s they way the do it now.
my dad was out of the hospital on saturday and they began figuring out when they could go home. due to some constraints from their traveler’s insurance they needed to fly sooner rather than later and managed to book a flight that wednesday (or maybe it was thursday). my dad went to see his doctor this week. i haven’t heard how that appointment went, but i’m assuming no news is good news on that front.
look what c19 brought home today -
a pretty snazzy cap and gown. it’s nothing like the cap and gown i wore when i graduated high school. mine was made of some kind of flimsy poly/nylon blend tissue paper, but this one is a heavy-duty-you-would-probably-wear-this-to-receive-your-phd kind of cap and gown. my first thought when he brought it through the door was, “wow, this is really happening.” my second thought after i felt it was, “wow, he’s gonna be miserably hot in that thing.”
Cat: Alright, for your own sake, I’ll be blunt. Why do the Bosses keep ducks? To eat them. So why do the Bosses keep a pig? The fact is that animals don’t seem to have a purpose really do have a purpose. The Bosses have to eat. It’s probably the most noble purpose of all, when you come to think about it.
Babe: They eat pigs?
Cat: Pork, they call it – or bacon. They only call them pigs when they’re alive.
