Occupied Tombs and Vacated Tomb

Yue-yue has got to be the nicest little girl in the neighborhood. Such likeable gal! She's about eight years old and stops by whenever. She's kind, polite, playful, great with the boys (she taught them how to play hide-and-seek), and talkative: "I just came back from my hometown. We went to worship Grandpa. We burned incense and things to send him. He died when I was two or three years old. My parents said he had a really tough life; he had to fight in a war even though he was sick."

Many people were spring-cleaning gravesites and venerating ancestors earlier last week for Tomb-Sweeping Festival. Since this holiday and Resurrection Day are both determined according to the lunar calendar, the two always coincide. It's an ironic juxtaposition of two holidays related to tombs, don't you think? 

Thursday morning, per the usual, the kids and I were at moms & kids group. We hunted eggs, it was rad. 

Saturday morning Drew was home and the sun was shining, so we explored the mountain. Why oh why did it take us eight months to appreciate the fact that there are acres of woods and miles of trails only 300 yards from our door? Magical wilderness, free of cars and filthy urban rubbish, our children love you and we will be back often.

Quarter-way up the mountain there's a watering hole. Folks fill empty plastic cooking oil jugs with mountain spring water, to go.

Tombs: first, wealthy person's tomb; below, middle-class tomb.

Everyone fell apart Saturday night. Drew was out all afternoon and evening for seeker English corner, then went directly to a late-night singing contest that two classmates were appearing in (somehow these things are unofficially required). Meanwhile Jonathon was regurgitating supper, Michael had diarrhea and refused to sleep until oh, 2am or so, Titus woke up screaming, everyone (that includes me) was crying, my sinuses were ready to blow. 

So I guess the Father didn't have it in mind for us to make it to celebration on Sunday morning. Drew was compelled to attend, for the Saturday English group always performs a song at Christmas & Easter, but the rest of us parked it at home. Bummer, cuz we've all grown to genuinely love the community at this place. But it's alright, we'll be together again next week.

p.s. everyone is ok now and the family has resumed functionality.