Check, Check, Check

• Kids Bathed. Check.
• Bedtime call into Mr. Johnson in Beijing. Check.
• Kids in Bed. Check.
• Lunches Packed. Check.
• Extra items (Swim suit and towel for EHJ's swimming in PE, sleeping bag for Bei Bei who will stay all day for her twin classmates' birthday party, party gift, extra "just-in-case" clothes for her cubby since last week she didn't have any and extended her canvas beyond the easel and onto her dress, the laundered "just-in-case"clothes the school lent us; Thank goodness MGJ can capably pack her own bag) ready. Check.

Check. Check. Check.

I'm finding these little marks on scraps of paper all over the house. Bei Bei is on a "check mark" kick.

"It means you got it right, Mom! It means all your letters are right!" she explained to me at my editorial meeting today as I sat outside a coffee shop with my colleagues from the Qingdao Expat at our monthly meeting. Bei Bei proceeded to make tiny check marks in ink all over my notes.

It was a gorgeous day to be out, gratuitously enjoying an incredible October day. I work with a great international team, and with all the hectic parts of putting a publication together, the hour or so we spend together at our team meeting, at the end of the month once all the articles have been submitted and proofed, is one of the most satisfying aspects.

I pulled Bei Bei into my lap and traced her hand, I traced the accountant's son's hand. Then he wanted me to trace his head. But we still got things accomplished. Bless the hearts of my team members who put up with these kinds of distractions. And, yet, Bei Bei and Sammy where of course much more lovely distractions than the sewer pipe that randomly began gurgling just beside our outdoor meeting spot, the same pipe that moments spewed dirty water with a splash... a virtual sewer geyser.

And you know the most amazing part? We just picked up our things, rolled the glass top table over a few meters, and continued our meeting.

Flexible?

Check. Check. Check.