July 19, 2010
Note: The first picture above is of Dad getting a massage on the beach...his first ever!
We whisked Dad straight from the hospital to the beach, as if he'd broken loose from jail. Dad was thrilled to be free of the hospital, and the hourly poking and prodding. Finally, he could get a good night's sleep. It was hard to restrain the kids from sleeping in his and Nanny's room, though, that first night.
We took him to Penang, Malaysia, known during the British West Indies days as the "Pearl of the Orient," back when it was an international port run by the British colonizers, located at the Strait of Melacca and South China Sea. We stayed at a resort, with no other Americans in sight. But, there sure were loads of families from Australia, Hong Kong, and the Gulf States, in full body burkas. These burka'ed women were riding the atv's avidly across the beach, riding horses, and reading their ipads. They seemed like they did so much we women did, just having to follow their husbands when they did it. And, the mosque was right next to our hotel, waking some of us promptly at 5:45 am in the morning. Tonight, Griffin accidentally climbed over the mosque fence, landing smack dab in the middle of the mosque call to prayer.
Griffin loved the freedom of the resort, after being confined to a glass and marble apartment in KL. He would disappear, taking off to swim, play soccer, or foosball with his many new friends. He's developed "my best friend in Malaysia," an 8 year old from Hong Kong named Thomas. They play every sport, especially soccer, in fact they want to do everything together, even taking a bath together. Griffin yesterday afternoon and all day today with Thomas and his family, often trailed by their Filipino nanny. His Hong Kong family was incredibly generous with Griffin, serving him lots of pizza, ice cream, and soccer play. They may give us a tour of Hong Kong when we visit Hong Kong...we, at least, were originally planning on visiting Hong Kong for the Hong Kong Disney. I didn't tell Thomas' mom that's the only reason we were going to Hong Kong.
Dad's recovering more and more each day. It's a wonder and relief to watch the miracle of medicine and solid sleep helping him back to normal. I'm sure all the love and attention doesn't hurt either. See the picture above of an "ancient Chinese masseuse" who gave Dad his first massage of his life. Patrick treated him to it, and he put a smile on Dad's face. Dad's a massage convert now.
When we walked to our nightly street hawker stalls for dinner tonite (see fave "Singapore" food above), Dad refused to have any of us guide his arm. Boom watched us argue with Papa to let us guide him, then Boom grabbed Dad's hand and guided him himself. It was an offer Papa couldn't refuse.
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