Rewired: Mama brain
It’s baby bath time. I’m sitting on the toilet lid. Mike is perched on a small stool. Dominic is sitting in his little plastic tub, playing. As Mike and I are chatting, Dominic tries to squeeze water out of his toy duck, fails, and lets out a sudden, shrill screech of rage and frustration that is loud enough to be heard in China. Me: “Dominic!! Really! Totally unnecessary.” Mike: “Dominic, every time you make that sound you take ten minutes off your mama’s life because she thinks you’re being eaten by vultures. You’re right here, she can see you, and it still makes her think...
Read MoreHorse or donkey?
We’re in Melbourne for a couple of days so that we can show baby bear to the officials at the US consulate and apply for his passport. It’s been a lovely couple of days packed full of last minute life admin tasks and meeting up with good friends. One of our biggest problems when we come to Melbourne is always lack of time. There are so many people here that we know and love that we never have as much time as we want to visit with them all and have long and leisurely catch ups. Another big problem for me – a more serious one – is the traffic. City driving has never been...
Read MoreTones
This past weekend Lisa and Mike went on an adventure to buy a thank you gift. There was some initial disagreement over how much they should spend. Mike: “But I like giving people more than what they expect.” Lisa (choosing, for once, affection over argument): “You give me more than what I expect.” Mike: “And just look at all the rewards I reap from that.” (Pause while Lisa tries to figure out whether or not she is being mocked.) Lisa: “There better not have been any sarcasm in your tone there, young man.” Mike: “Lao has six tones, honey. And we both know that you’re not...
Read More“That” dog
This morning, as he sometimes does, Mike woke up before 5am. In an effort to avoid disturbing me, he decided to go outside and sit on the balcony. At about 6 he came and crawled back into bed. “Did you hear the dog?” he asked. At this point I may have said something uncomplimentary about that dog. Profane, even. I could feel Mike smiling in the darkness. “Is it that scruffy little sod? That mangy cur?” I asked. “The one that sits in the street next door looking miserable all day long? Is that the pre-dawn howler?” “Yeah,” Mike said. “That one. Want to hear something...
Read MoreBreakfast at Joma
This is a shot in one of my favorite places in Luang Prabang so far, Joma. Joma of cinnamon buns and lattes and, even more importantly, AC and wifi. Earlier this week, Mike and I had an early morning breakfast there as per our current routine. In the background Ella Fitzgerald was playing Let’s Fall In Love. Mike: “Oh, honey, we have the place all to ourselves.” Lisa: “Yup, just the two of us having a romantic breakfast. The two of us, with our two laptops in between us.” Mike: “Just like most of the rest of our relationship so...
Read MoreSecond wife
On his first trip to Laos for his job interview in January, Mike was warned that should we move to Laos he would be encouraged by many locals (in fact, expected) to take a Laotian wife. Mike sent Lisa one post-card during that trip. It was of an elderly Laos woman smoking a cigar. All that was written on the back was: “Check out your competition for wife number two.” Since getting to Laos in April Mike has indeed been encouraged to take a Laotian wife. Mike: “The district governor I met with today said you were beautiful when I showed him our wedding photos. Then, later in the meeting,...
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