June 15th.
School is still in session.
But our Mom picks us up early, and we walk 5 minutes to the...
Pool!
Our university pool is old and filthy.
You get used to it.
Neighborhood children are still buried in their books inside classrooms.
Wide open seas!
And a personal lifeguard.
July, and the city government begins enforcing a swim cap code.
That's cool.
July 11th, and school's out tomorrow.
Enjoy one last swim in our vast private pool.
Late July through August, the sun is blazing hot during the daytime. It'll kill you.
Most folks are only willing to swim at night!
We love taking a dip in the dark too, and always run into neighbors and kids' classmates.
7-9pm, everybody is here.
Early September, and sometimes the temperature dips low, way down low into the 80s.
Chinese grandmas won't permit their kids to swim in such frigid temps for fear of catching a cold.
September 9th, children are back in classrooms.
The pool is ours again!
September 18, our last swim before the pool closes.
The boys have gained a lot of confidence and skill in these four months:
Titus is good at treading water for a few seconds, swimming about ten feet, and swimming lengths of the pool with a paddle board.
Michael is good at swimming underwater about ten feet, picking up objects off the bottom, opening his eyes and making signs under the water.
They can both turn flips underwater and squat on the edge to dive headfirst into the deep end.
It's been a good season of hot and swimming.
October 1st, today.
And this week as The People's Republic of China celebrates its 65th year as a nation, we are turning a page too. Summer closes now, and autumn is right before us.
counting the graces
thank you Father for
Mike, "I want to be with you Mommy"
runs around Back Lake with it's slow, rural, art culture
time and space to devour all my scheduled Bible reading this quarter, concluding with Prov 31 -- and what a source of strength and wisdom this has been!
inspiration
exciting prospect of Titus attending K for a few weeks in Hutchinson
thoughtful anniversary greetings from family
how Auntie Wang pays attention to clean certain things I wouldn't bother with, like the kitchen exhaust fans
hymns, deep words of truth that lift the soul
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