Live and Learn

As I write, Brian is doing one of his least favorite things...flying. He is currently heading to the East coast. This is a common ritual. We often have work on the East coast that requires our presence. Jackson indeed loves it when the work is a family affair, as he enjoys flying. He is so accustomed to flying that he is comfortable boarding the plane by himself, plopping his fanny in the seat by the window, fastening his seat belt, and grinning broadly as we head off into the wild blue yonder. Brian on the other hand, requires some much needed assistance. And when I say "assistance", I am referring to drugs. You see, everyone has skeletons in their closet.

As Brian faces his fears once again, I am devising a strategy.  A clever plan that will prevent my participation in a Karaoke Box this evening. I have a local friend who visits the Karaoke Box on her lunch or dinner break to relieve stress. On one particular afternoon, she persuaded me to join her. Now in order for you to understand how uncomfortable this predicament was for me, I'll need to share a quote from my childhood. My loving Father told me on many occasions the following, "Ginger, if you ever fall in love with a boy, DON'T sing to him! Or you'll lose him forever." With that in mind, standing in front of a video screen with microphone in hand is not my ideal way of bonding with a new friend.

This evening I have dinner plans with my Karaoke friend. We are eating at the mall. Asian malls have Karaoke Boxes. And I am a little apprehensive about our after dinner plans. Now, I understand we are not to have a spirit of timidity, and it isn't often that I do. But just as over-sized buses with wings cruising at altitudes of 30,000 feet create a sense of panic in my husband, Karaoke Boxes affect me in the same like manner.

Which brings me to my point, and I do have one. Living on the far side has stretched us in many ways. And it will continue to do so. Some of our experiences have been fun, others have been challenging.  But they have brought about personal growth. Then there are those incidents that have been awkward, unpleasant, and/or moronic. And apparently we missed the lesson to be learned in those events because we failed to see their benefit. It happens sometimes. Maybe we will get it the next go around.

I chose to share the above examples as they are light-hearted. And I wasn't in the mood for  formidable and esoteric discourse. I'm sure there will be plenty of moving memoirs to share in future dialogue.

May you be stretched this week and find yourself better for it:).

8:10pm: Quick update: I did indeed find myself in the K-Box this evening. So much for strategy:).