Silence....

OMG...for the first time in a very loooong while, I am home alone. Not in my own home but still. Husband is away, parents are gone, kids happily playing at neighbors' houses or out riding their bike - all alone.

I am at loss, do not know what to do? I only have 52 minutes but the possibilities are endless! Shall I take a bath, read a book and have a glass of wine? Should I attack the laundry basket and see if I can at least make one small indention and do some ironing. I should make sure that our tickets have been paid for so that we can leave Thursday as planned but that will take me all of five minutes.
Too many choices and too little time.

This summer, the kids have experienced freedom. There are plenty of kids in the neighborhood and they all roam free, more or less. The go to each others houses, by them selves, ring the door bells and asks if they want to come out to play. There is no scheduling play dates, no arranged activities and most importantly; no parental involvement. And so far, they all get along great.

So very different from Scottsdale and so, I believe, healthy. I wonder what it will be like in China? I will choose a place to live with plenty of kids but from experience I know that kids are very busy - kids in Asia especially.

When we lived in Tokyo I had a job. It was a three day assignment when I was the foreigner to look at and talk to. My friend set me up with a gentleman who had a juku, evening school, specialized in English and the world outside of Japan. Most of the kids had never before seen a gaijin (westerner) up close and of course never spoken to one. They knew all the grammar and could write long sentences in English but when it came to talking, they were suddenly terrified of making mistakes and loose face.
I brought Swedish ginger bread cookies to break the ice and we talked about karate and whatever other activities they did for fun.It was fun for me and very well paid for almost no work.
They didn't have time to play though, ever. There was always one juku or another after school, they never just  played.

But, the summer is coming to an end, the Swedish kids have gone back to school and we are leaving Thursday. Visas will be picked up tomorrow, tickets are paid for and we are so ready.

No clothes in the closets though so I guess I'll have to face the ironing beast after all. Bath/book/wine will have to wait.