Missing Autumn

I've lived in a climate before that does not have a full autumn. I missed the dramatic changing and falling of leaves when I went to college in New Orleans. Then in Beersheva Israel, cool weather didn't come until much later in the year. But this is the first time I have experienced the complete absence of the season. A few weeks ago, I overheard another American trying to describe Fall to a Thai woman: how the weather is cool, the leaves change color and fall, people rake piles of leaves and children jump in them. The discussion didn't go on to the apples and pumpkins, hay rides, cozy sweatshirts, and pink cheeks, but my mind did. I thought of the smells of dry leaves, candles burning in jack-o-lanterns, and warm homemade apple sauce. Today, I found myself tearing up when I saw some pictures posted on Facebook of beautiful orange leaves above a person wearing warm clothes. Yes, I really do miss Autumn!

I don't know when the next time I will get to wear a sweatshirt will be. It is unimaginable when I will next see snow. We will once again be in the minority of people celebrating Christmas. (Ironically, very few people celebrate it in the country of His birth, since it is a Jewish nation with many Muslims.) I try to remind myself to focus on learning to enjoy the seasons here. So I will tell you what I have so far come to appreciate.

Cool season is approaching. There have already been a few nights where I have happily pulled a sheet up over myself. Granted, a large fan has been running full speed aimed at me, as well, but I'll take what I can get. I look forward to the days when I can walk to the market and back without dripping in sweat. It will be comfortable to take the girls to the park mid-day for a picnic lunch. Everyone will sleep better with cooler nights, and Simeon won't wake up in a pool of sweat. This season is also dry, so I will be able to hang out my laundry without wondering if it will get wet. If we travel up north during this season, I may get a chance to wear one of my soft, comfy sweatshirts. Last year, we experienced an especially cold winter for Bangkok, with the temperature getting down to 60 degrees Fahrenheit!

After cool season, comes hot season. I don't think I've learned to appreciate this season yet. It's still dry, so laundry dries very quickly. It's not as humid as the next season. This is the time of daily playing in the water hose. It is no wonder that the holiday of Song Kran, which falls during this time of year, has turned into a nationwide water fight. Regularly playing in water is the only way to survive this season. The real value of this season is in helping us to appreciate the following season.

Then comes the wet season. It is still very hot, and the humidity adds to the heat index. However, the rains help cool the air down, even if it is only temporary. After surviving the hot season, the first rains are refreshing and feel cooler than they really are. We all have enjoyed splashing in rainstorm or two. The girls don't like the crashing thunder, but maybe when they are older they will have fond memories of shouting with the thunder. The rain also brings more flowers out. Next year, I will try to look carefully to see which flowers bloom at which time of year.

So there you have it, the three seasons of Thailand! I do hope that at some point my children get to experience Winter, Spring, and Fall, but they will certainly appreciate the nuances of Thai seasons better than I.

Read the Bible in 90 Days

I had never heard of doing this until one of my friend posted on Facebook that she had just finished reading the Bible in 90 days. I looked into it, and found a schedule online for reading the entire Bible in just 88 days plus two "grace days." Since moving to Thailand, I had struggled with getting into a regular routine of Bible reading. Some days I would read a few verses, other days a chapter, and even nothing on some days. I grew up with the knowledge that reading and studying the whole Bible, not just the most intriguing parts, was important. My parents both read the Bible through regularly, as well as many other mature Christians I respect. Because of this, had read through the entire Bible before, but the last time was years ago. I would just read books that interested me at the time, and I was never interested in slugging through 1 and 2 Chronicles or trying to dig out the meaning in Jeremiah and Lamentations. Having a specific goal in mind appealed to me. Also, ninety days is a much more immediate end point than a whole year. And I like a challenge.

Since moving to Thailand and not having regular small group or much fellowship with other women, I have been struggling with feelings of spiritual isolation. To counteract this and to provide accountability, I invited some other women to read with me. Two accepted: one in Oklahoma and another in Bolivia. So we were reading together all over the world. It was fun to read their thoughts and to have a daily link to these two friends. In fact, my friend in Bolivia and I are now reading the Bible chronologically together, although at the much slower pace of a year.

Reading the whole Bible in 90 days meant reading the entire Torah (first 5 books) in 15 days! It was amazing to see the character of God as he related with man from Creation through the Israelites entering into the Promised Land. I felt that I got to know Moses as a character in a way I never had before. I also got a real picture of how many times people fail the Lord, but how He persists in loving and guiding. Those first two week were probably my favorite in the read through.

I found many other insights while reading the Bible at this pace, but most important is my continued desire to read and study the Word. A day now feels strange if I'm not reading a few chapters of the Bible. I discovered so many passages that I want to go back and study in depth. I also developed a strong desire to show my children the big picture of God's faithfulness and plan in the Old Testament leading to the culmination of Jesus' birth. I have been able to work on a "curriculum" to this end, giving them an in depth study on stories they have previously heard only in the children's "Sunday School" version.

I encourage any Christian to take the "90 Day Challenge." The point of the challenge is purely to read every word in the Bible during that time and to gain a better understand of the book as a whole. Many questions will be raised, you will not remember every detail, but you will be in a great position to continue studying God's Word. So what are you waiting for? Enlist a couple of friends and start reading! Then let me know how it goes. Have you already done this? Write a comment on your experience below.

But She Deserves an Award Too...

My oldest daughter likes to plan celebrations. She has been planning for Halloween since the middle of September. She has scheduled games and food and prizes. And she also designed and created her own costume. She did not ask me to take her to the craft store or to help her with a single thing. She made her own fairy wings out of a cardboard box. She figured out a way to attach them around her chest and even measured herself for fit. Her costume is not fancy, and it may not be obvious that she is a fairy, but her initiative and creativity outweigh the lack of finesse in the final product.

Neilson Hayes Library, the English library here in Bangkok, has a Halloween/Day of the Dead celebration on November 1st, so I thought I had until then to help Eris put the finishing details on her costume. While I was home with sick children, my husband came back from church announcing that the kids' Sunday School class was having a Halloween party a week earlier. (Having a Halloween party at church is another topic altogether that I probably won't get to.)The week after recuperating from two weeks of sick children, including a trip to the library and getting ready for rescheduled company, was not the week I had planned to prepare costumes. I managed to put together a mermaid costume for Meriel with items we had around the house. Eris had given her the idea to be Ariel since their names sound similar. Then on Sunday morning, I finally had some time to give some attention to my little fairy. I helped retape her wings onto the chest band and affixed some yarn to tie them in place. That was all I had time for, and Eris was happy with the result.

Upon arriving at the church and getting their costumes on, Meriel was happy that everyone recognized her as a mermaid. Unfortunately, no one thought that Eris was a fairy; they all thought she was some kind of angel. It turns out, there are no tales of fairies in Thai culture. This compounded with the fact that her costume was very homemade, meant that she got little recognition for her hard work and innovation. At the end of the party, Meriel won a prize for her costume. A couple of other little girls who had pretty, store bought, unimaginative costumes received prizes. I'm honestly not sure the reason as the explanation for the prizes was given in Thai. Eris did not get a prize. No one commented on how hers was the only costume not purchased premade or made by an adult. No one told her how original it was or that she must have worked hard on it.

Of course that evening, Mommy and Daddy told her how proud we were of her. Daddy commented on her initiative in making her own costume. I lauded her for her creativity. But it was apparent that she was disappointed. She said that likes to creative and will continue to make things. In the end, the fact that her sister received a prize and she did not was not a horrible outcome. I mind less that she did not get an award, but that no one recognized her costume for what it was: the artwork and imaginative creation of a seven year old. I was reminded that we live in a culture that does not value individuality and is more focussed on outcome than process. So it will be so much more important for us as her parents to encourage this aspect of her personality. I hope that she will value our opinion and praise more than any award given by others.

To Proofread or Not

In the wee hours of the morning, while trying to get my fussy, teething toddler back to sleep, I wondered about whether I should proofread my blog posts. I decided against it, and here are the reasons why.

1. Limited Time. The main reason that I started a blog is that I enjoy writing, and I wanted an incentive to actually do something with all my "that would make an interesting story" ideas. I have limited "free time," and I'd rather spend it writing than re-writing and editing.

2. Low yield. I could be very wrong in this, but I expect that I would not catch many errors through proofreading my own work. I don't expect that I will make too many mistakes, and those that I do make will not take away from the understanding and enjoyment of the post. Also, if I'm unsure of the proper wording or usage of a comma the first time through, a second reading will likely not improve this.

3. Over-thinking. I have an idea that re-reading what I write may cause me to second guess the content. I may try to insert "fancy" words or rewrite something that was better the first time.

4. Training myself to write. If I am only writing a "first draft," I have to do a good job the first time. I do not have a chance to be sloppy and the fix it. I will have to think about what I'm writing and learn to be precise and concise on the first try. Over time, I hope that my writing will get better, more interesting; more fun to write and to read.

5. I'm doing this for fun. This is not a business venture or part of my professional development. If I make a few mistakes, it shouldn't affect my future adversely. I don't particularly enjoy proofreading, so I'd rather not do it and see how it goes.

So what do you think? Do you proofread your blog? How many mistakes did I make in this post? If a blogger makes a lot of simple errors, does it make you not want to read his or her blog? Thanks for your comments.

Spiders, Snakes, and Frogs - Oh My!

Since moving to our spacious home with an overgrown garden next to a miniature jungle in the adjoining lot, we've had a fair number of large spiders in our bathroom. A few have even sneaked into the indoor kitchen. But last night, I discovered one on the ceiling in our bedroom. Simeon, my 14 month old, had just woken up and was looking around for me. Philip and I both went in to pick him up and get the bedroom ready for the night. I scooped up Simeon and then noticed the spider on the ceiling. I've gotten better about not screaming when I see them, because that upsets Philip. He thinks that something is seriously wrong. So instead, I just kind of whimpered and held Simeon closer. Philip followed my gaze and nodded. He got his spider killing instruments: dust mop and handled dust pan. I watch from a distance. He smacked the ceiling with the dust mop; it soon became apparent that he was searching the whole bedroom. The spider had disappeared.

Now, there was no way that we were going to sleep in that bedroom without finding and killing that spider first. Philip looked under the mattresses, in the sheets. Then he looked behind a curtain and found the spider on the wall. He enlisted me to watch the spider so that if he missed, I could tell him where it went. Clutching a sleeping Simeon to my chest and training a flashlight on the fearsome eight-legged creature, my heart was beating unnecessarily fast. What did I think was going to happen? Sure the spider could bite and hurt me, but it wasn't poisonous, and chance were it was going to run away from me not toward me. Despite my logical thoughts, it was hard for me to calm myself. Philip swung at the spider, and missed. I did my job, pointing toward the cupboard it had run behind. We moved the cupboard, the spider ran to the floor. Smash! Philip finally got it. We could sleep in our room tonight. "Well, we wanted to do something together!" Philip rejoined.

As if I didn't have enough of an adrenaline rush for awhile, we had our second snake in the garden just before lunch this morning. I was looking for one of Simeon's toys. He tends to put small objects in various containers. We have several large (about 3 tall and 18 inches diameter) clay rain jars around that he especially likes to drop things in. I headed out the kitchen door to look in the jar where I have found his sippy-cup and plastic lids before when I saw a long black and green body climbing up the inside of that jar. I quickly called the girls to come around to the front door. I wanted to make sure everyone was inside and accounted for and wouldn't go near the snake. Then, I knocked on Philip's study door and told him about the snake. While he went to investigate, I did a Google image search. After some back and forth discussion with Philip and studying the snake's markings we concluded that it was a Golden Tree Snake - venomous but not poisonous to humans. I was so relieved and thankful!

Now since the snake could still bite one the children and cause pain, Philip wanted to get it out of our yard or at least out of the rain jar where it would feel trapped and be more aggressive. He tried to get it out with a stick, but the snake was quick and dexterous. Then he lifted up the rain jar in an attempt to dump the snake into a bucket. It just disappeared! Philip didn't know how a 2 foot long snake could get out of the jar without him noticing. He shuddered as he realized that the snake could have bitten him and he wouldn't have even seen it coming. We have not seen that snake again, yet. Hopefully, it crawled a tree and dropped over into the empty lot next door.

Now, I am not really afraid of frogs, but I had to have something to round out the title. One did startle me by jumping out from the edge of the sink as I was washing some dishes this afternoon. With spiders and snakes on my mind, sometimes I get a bit jumpy. I have been known to scream (just a small scream) as a gecko scrambled near me on the wall. Someday we want to move out of Bangkok into rural Thailand. I look forward to that time but NOT to the likely increase in creeping crawlies in and around our home.