The Odyssey

I'm beginning to think I'm not the best mother around. In the past couple of months, we've had some almost tragedies and near misses. One day, Danae was spending a little too much time in the bathroom. Just as I was entering to check on her, she was running out crying. I asked what's wrong. She said her eyes were burning. What had happened was...she put clear fingernail polish on her eyelids. She was trying to apply makeup like her nanny did earlier that day. I immediately flushed her eyes with water and tragedy was avoided. A few days later, we were coming back to our apartment from breakfast. We got off the elevator and just as it was about to close, Mr Brayden darted back on. I couldn't stop it in time and the elevator left. The elevators here don't have sensors to stop the doors if you put your hand in. I was frantically trying to press the buttons to open it. I didn't know where to go. We live on the 22nd floor and I had no idea if I should go to the lo...

We've been living in the Philippines for 5 months now. The last couple of months have been hardest because we miss home. You know the saying: "You don't miss the water until the well runs dry." Yeah, we have a very different appreciation for the United States of America. It is, in our opinion, the greatest country in the world. But, something happened. Last week, I was at home. I didn't want to go for the reason I did but I still went home. I realized something about home. I grew up in Pensacola, Fl. My family lives there. Many friends live there. But, it's not really home any more. It is a wonderful part of my past and now a place I frequently visit. So, where is home? Houston? Maybe. It is where my children were born. It's where I want to live again in a couple of months. I would love to grow old there and retire. We have so many friends there who we miss dearly. I won't even address how much we miss our church there. Of the places I've lived, Ho...

The kids and I made it to Florida safely. The flight was no joke but they did as well as I could have ever expected. It's been wonderful to see all of my family but I really miss Javares. His funeral was today and I said a little something. I wanted to both honor his memory and comfort my family. Several people said I did a good job and they enjoyed what I had to say. So, I guess I can consider it a success. I even made the news! But the highlight of the funeral service was when his 6 year old son, Jayden, reflected on his father. He said: "He loved me, he hugged me every time he saw me and I was just happy to see him. And it looks like it's the last time i'm gonna see him. But I just remember, I'm just gonna see him in heaven." You all know this brought a standing ovation. This little boy showed such poise and maturity. Absolutely awesome! I promised his mother that I would keep in touch with them. Jayden told me he is now my favorite cousin since his father...

Did I tell you all that I'm a student out here? Probably not. I've always wanted to be a good seamstress. I learned how to sew years ago and kept saying I wanted to start again. Dwayne bought me a sewing machine for Christmas 2006 and then I realized my skills kinda need sharpening. I wasn't very good. So, a couple of months ago I enrolled at the Fashion Institute of the Philippines. I'm learning to sew again and I love it. I'm focusing on ladies wear right now and have to complete 6 projects in order to complete this course. I'm only on the first one. But, I am learning a lot and I'm so happy that I decided to enroll. I've been really working this week to occupy my mind. On a blog I read all the time, the writer once encouraged all the readers to make moves to do the things you love. Learn something new. Take a step toward completing your goals. This is one of my goals and I'm very happy that I started. Can't wait to show the completed projects....

so please just bear with me. I've been reminiscing a lot the last 24 hours. I was 3 years old when I first fell in love. In fact, my first real memory is when Javares (Jay) was a newborn baby. I was so amazed at this beautiful baby doll who was actually alive. I begged to hold him but of course the adults were wiser than that. I was given a job though. When they would lay him on the sofa it was my job to sit on the edge and make sure he didn't roll off. I took it very seriously. If he even flinched I was ready to save him. I was his protector. As I said, he lived with us for several years. We were inseparable. We had matching underoos as kids. He was Superman and I was Wonder Woman. He was Batman, I was Batgirl. For one of my mother's high school reunions they went on a cruise. Jay went too of course. We had so much fun running around that ship and gorging ourselves with all the yummy food. When he lived with us we shared a room. Something happened with my closet door and i...

Staff Sergeant Javares Washington was killed in Kuwait. He was my cousin. My cousin died yesterday...in Kuwait...and I'm so very sad. I feel like I can't breathe. My heart is broken. We grew up like siblings. His mom had him at a very young age. She wasn't ready to take care of him. So, he lived with us for years. He was like my brother. And now, I'm in shock. I'm going to miss him so much. The military has only said he was in a government vehicle on patrol and it flipped over. We don't know what caused the flip or anything. I want to go home. He was married and had two children. His son, Jayden, is 6 years old and looks just like him. His daughter, Tristin, is 9 months old. My heart is broken.

January 22: We decided to take a tour of Hong Kong. First we stopped at a Man Mo Temple which is dedicated to the gods of Literature (Man) and Martial Arts (Mo). This temple is notable because of its many brass and pewter incense burners. There was incense everywhere! Hanging from the ceiling and on every table. For the people who came there to worship, they brought food with them, usually apples and oranges, to offer the gods. There was a table for fortune telling. It was way too smoky so we didn't stay long. In the pictures, the coils hanging from the ceiling are incense. From there we headed to Victoria Peak. We had to ride the world's steepest railway up to the peak of 428 meters where we saw the view of the harbor and the Kowloon Peninsula. It was a bit foggy but I'm sure on a clear day it is spectacular. The next stop was to the Aberdeen Fishing Village. We rode a sampan through a traditional fishing village. It was pretty interesting as most families have several boa...

We traveled to Hong Kong to celebrate Danae's 3rd birthday. It was a little chilly but we still enjoyed ourselves. Hong Kong is known as a shopping paradise in Asia. You can definitely find things there that you won't see anywhere else, but it is a little pricey. As usual, I'll run through everything we did while there. Jan 20: We arrived early evening so we didn't do much. Ate dinner and walked around a bit. We stayed at Marco Polo Gateway at Harbour City Mall in Kowloon. Jan 21: My baby turned 3 years old!!! So, we went to Disneyland, of course. For those of you with children or who plan to have children, can you please take your little black babies to Asia. A lot of the Chinese people we ran into have never seen black children. They wanted to touch their skin and hair. It's crazy! Don't believe me? Here's proof. This girl and her friends were all over my baby. And, he was eating it up! Hong Kong Disney is nice! Dwayne says it's about the same size as ...

How do you know when sticky rice has gone too far? When it can be used in place of a hamburger bun. This picture was taken at Hong Kong Disney. On the menu, it was a chicken sandwich with rice. Danae enjoyed it though. She liked the rice better than the meat.

Unfortunately there are no pictures but as Dwayne told me this story I said I have to blog about it. Here goes: Around 2:00 this afternoon, I was in Starbucks purchasing my daily snack when I heard a fire alarm from my office building. So, I rushed to the building to see what was going on but the security guard said it was just a fire drill. During this conversation, I saw the police blocking off the area in front of the building with yellow police tape. In my peripheral vision I could see smoke directly above me coming from the 4th floor of the building. Needless to say, I dashed across the street to safety. I was thinking that this woman just told me it's a fire drill but I see smoke coming from the building. It can't be a fire drill but things weren't adding up because people were just casually walking from the building and in front of the place. I was one of the few idiots standing across the street witnessing the events unfold and trying to determine if there was a rea...