在美好的路上

 
         

          昨晚睡得很不安穩。
          每次S 離家遠行的第一個晚上，我都無法安然入睡，惡夢連連。大概也跟昨兒白天早上Jamie 突然發生狀況，緊急送醫有關吧！
          事情發生之前，我知道Ｓ對於這趟單飛期待已久，旅行一直是他放鬆及充電的方式，他視為生命的必須。因此，三個月前就開始巴望著這一天的來到，隨身行李箱早就整好，每晚入睡前再把Evernote 裏的旅遊筆記瀏覽一次才滿足的上床，像小朋友期待遠足的心情一樣。

                  
        在網路上 讀到一篇文章提及人到三十交友難。為什麼難？作者列出的原因包括：一，你開始覺得人生有限，不能過多用在與陌生人交流; 二，結交好友的三個外在條件：近距離接觸、反覆見面、計劃外的互動很難滿足; 三，社會地位和收入差異; 四，對方配偶的介入; 五，子女限制了社交圈; 六，你對好友的標準比年輕時嚴格很多。
      按照以上這些條件，跨入中年的已婚男女要交朋友，更是難上加難！特別是對我這種個性內向、不善與人交際的女生來說，要發展、經營一段友誼得花上好多力氣。

                 So we had this conversation over and over again....or I should say he has lectured me on the same topic over and over again. "All that Bible Study and blogging takes up too much of your time. You need to think about what your priority is as a full time mom and wife." he would say to me whenever I forgot to do the things he had told me to do.
               The same thing happened again yesterday morning when he was waken up by Madison's alarm clock and got all flustered. Frustrated, he came downstairs, seeing me do my devotional reading, started scolding me on how I had been careless on Madison' sleep quality and her diet. "That's why Madison doesn't grow as much. She's not getting enough sleep. Also, look what you gave them for lunch yesterday. They can't just eat salad. They are kids and they are growing. They can't eat like us. You, as a mom, need to make sure that she gets enough sleep and eats properly. I don't care about your BSF and all that blogging....you need to do your job as a mom."
               Really? Seriously, am I a single parent here? Every morning I wake up standing in the kitchen doing the stuff that I would never do in my life if I didn't have kids. For the past years they've been going to school, the only time he woke up early morning to make them lunch was when I was sick three weeks ago. Every week I go to more than 3 different supermakets to get the best quality of food that they require, acquiring a variety of fruits that they like and play balls with them whenever there is a need. Never a single time did I miss nor was late for picking them up or dropping them off for school or important events because I was "doing my own stuff". 

              今年母親節原本答應婆婆所屬長老教會的牧師，讓兩個女兒去拉小提琴，後來因姐姐考樂團一事而延後，此事一直記掛心中。雖說請女兒前去表演一事，多少是為了給公婆做面子，但是對學琴學了四五年，卻鮮少上台露兩手的妹妹來說，不失為一個表演的好機會。因此兩週前我主動與該教會牧師聯絡，幾經商討後敲定在今天的主日。
          
（曾經擔任幾任長老的婆婆台風穩健）

           家裡用了七年的Dyson 吸塵器最近經常出毛病，開關打開之後，「只聞馬達響」，卻完全沒有任何吸力。其實，家裡的吸塵工作主要落在清潔阿姨及有吸塵潔癖的老公身上，我很少用; 修機器之事拖了近一個月，今天終於下定決心找機會送進廠，將這件懸在心頭的雜事一併解決。
        上網Yelp 一番，找到一家離家不遠的吸塵器專賣/修理店。
        踏進這家小店，映入眼簾的是牆壁、地上一部部大大小小、看起來屬於舊式的吸塵器。長得高高壯壯的老闆正在協助我前面的一位年長客人，態度誠懇、親切。

 
           父親今年八十有六，仍身體健朗（每週打三次高爾夫球，每日走路一小時），耳清目明（每日讀中英文報刊達兩三小時）。在教會裡也有一些簡單的事奉，比如說幫教會刊物打字、每週二當義工、以及週五晚團契的靈修分享。在他退休之後，能夠持續的為上帝做工，即使是些看起來微不足道的事情，都讓他每一天的日子顯得有意義！

  
        這部改編自法國文豪Victor Hugo 1862 年的作品Les Miserables 音樂劇拍成電影後，一直想看。無奈連續幾個週末排滿了兩姐妹球賽的行程，根本「喬」不出三個鐘頭的時間到戲院。上個星期在創文退修會上，又聽到惠琬老師說最近因著電影的上映及奧斯卡提名熱潮興起她重讀一千九百頁小說的興趣，更下定我看這部電影的決心。
      上帝深知我心。自上個星期開始氣象預報說會有連續幾天陣雨，眼看著姊姊足球練習跟比賽一場場地取消，內心暗自竊喜。機會來了，週五下了課接兩姐妹放學後，跟她們曉以大義，說媽媽很久很久沒看電影了，可不可以陪媽媽去看這部姊姊很久以前讀過的經典做品。星期五本來就是她們的電影日，雖然這回挑的電影不適合兒童觀看（PG-13)，看在媽媽的份上，兩人也就捨命陪君子的答應了。