Steve was out of town this weekend, so it was a "Mommy & Me" weekend for Lia. This was the first time Steve and I had been apart for more than a few hours since we got Lia, and with very few friends and no family in this town where we live, I was indoctrinated pretty quickly into single life with a 2 year old - and let me tell you - it is HARD work! It made me appreciate and admire all the single moms I know even more than I already did, and it also made me appreciate Steve and everything he does to support me in caring for Lia on a daily basis! We were happy to be able to Skype with him while he was out of town, and Lia really got in to interacting with him via the laptop. Now when he calls on the phone, she immediately points to the computer, wanting to see him as well! Here's a pic from one of our Skype sessions:
On Saturday, I decided to take Lia down to our local Asian grocery for their annual Chinese New Year celebration. It is sponsored by the "sister city" coalition, and I was shocked at how many people were there! The grocery store itself is not big, and it was packed wall to wall with people. As Lia and I wedged ourselves in amongst the crowd, I had to laugh as I heard a Chinese woman singing "Like a Virgin" over the loud speakers inside the store. I was having flashbacks to our time in Beijing (with the "Winston Cowboy")... We left the store and went out to the parking lot where most of the activities took place. There were young men beating drums and setting up to do a lion dance, and older men throwning garlands of firecrackers (unlit) off the roof in long strings. As the "lucky" time (11:11 am in 2011), the crowd got big. The lion and dragon started dancing and the fireworks started going off...and off...and off... We finally left and the firecrackers were STILL going off. The red "ribbons" hanging from the roof in this photo are actually firecrackers. You can tell from the shadows that they were looped over several times...There were literally thousands:
Gong Xi Fa Cai
HAPPY YEAR OF THE METAL RABBIT!
4 comments:
I have to snicker a bit at the comments about how you've now seen how hard it is to be a single mom of a 2 year old. Welcome to my world! LOL! Now next time you need to do it for a couple of weeks while you and Lia are both sick, there is a snowstorm, and Lia suddenly decides you can't put her down. Ever. Then you'll have passed all the tests. :)
Fun times, and I bet you are sleeping well at night! I absolutely adore the Skype picture of you and Lia.
Once I saw the picture you and lia have the same pose, I want to say "what a happy family!!!"
I always feel that way when I am thrust into single parenting for a bit. Makes me really appreciate "the dah" as Emma likes to call him!
-Jen :)
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