Thousand Words: Day Six

Special Days on the Other Side of the World

One of the greatest challenges that comes with life on this side of the planet is the absence of grandparents.

  

That pain is never more felt than on a special day.  June 28th was the 6th anniversary of one of the most beautiful days in the history of the world.  We now call it "Gotcha Day" and Rachel talks about it for at least two months before the celebration.  So what do you do on a special day in China . . . with no grandparents?  Good question.  The answer?  We pull out all the stops.  Every effort to keep her from becoming spoiled rotten is abandoned and the whole day is all about her.  Our goal on "Gotcha Day" is to send Rachel to bed 100% exhausted and knowing beyond the shadow of a doubt that she is absolutely magnificent and we are so tremendously thankful that she is our daughter.   This year we nailed it.  

In China "conveniences" are more and more common every day.  In our four years here we have been routinely amazed by the appearance of something new.  Milk in a carton, onion rings, Subway, Doritos, Liquid Detergent, Mountain Dew even Burger King (only in the Beijing airport) have all been the subject of minor but significant celebrations in the Jones home.  Call it what you want, modernization, Westernization, globalization, but it is an undeniable fact that China is changing rapidly.  A rising middle class that didn't exist even 20 years ago now has the expendable income and time to create a demand for more and more stuff.  There is a bittersweet element as much of old China's history and charm are tainted by Western ideas and commercialism.  On Gotcha Day we choose to focus on the sweet part and indulge just a little for the best daughter in the universe.  Still no match for grandparents but nice.

Gotcha Morning

Ra spent the morning with her good friends the Keegans creating their very 

own painted masterpieces.  She completed a self-portrait which now hangs

on her bedroom wall.

Gotcha Lunch

McDonalds . . . duh.

Gotcha Skating

Qingdao just opened a brand new indoor ice skating rink, the only one that 

I have seen like it in China.  Rachel has been begging to try it so Gotcha 

Day was the perfect occasion to go for it.

Gotcha DQ

As far as we know there is one DQ in our city of 

8 million people.  The prices are just a bit more than 

ridiculous which makes a Blizzard a rare but much 

appreciated treat.

Gotcha 3D

We finished the day with Toy Story 3 glasses and all.  Perfect ending to a 

perfect day and yes I snapped a picture in the theater with my cell phone.