Greycinations: See You Soon, Ah Ma and Gong Gong.

My parents left this morning, and Greyson and I went to the airport to say goodbye. Greyson didn't seem to register what was really happening until my parents got further into security, when he said, "Gong Gong stay with Grey Grey?" I told him they were going home, but that we'd see them in a month when we go back to Singapore to visit. That was that, until an hour later, when we were in the car, and all of a sudden he said quietly, "See you soon, Ah Ma and Gong Gong."
It is now three o'clock in the afternoon. I'm sitting in my empty house eating a sesame cookie that my mom brought for me from home. Greyson just woke up and on the video monitor, I can see him sitting up, blurry-eyed, in his crib. There's no one to wake up to, it's just me. It's just us until Papa comes home. I am missing my parents the most at this hour of the day. When I was in high school, my mom would come home from work in the afternoons, and call me out of my room for tea. In Singapore, afternoon tea is a regular occurrence, a remnant of our days as a British colony. My mom and I would sit, have some Milo, a cookie or pastry, and I'd tell her how school was. When my parents were here, we'd all disperse to decompress when Greyson took his nap. At three, when Greyson woke up from his nap, it was teatime. Everyone would wake up, and come upstairs. My mom would be in the kitchen at this hour, preparing a bite, and her coffee. We'd sit at the dining table and have tea, and chat.

It has been a lovely visit, one of the best ones we've had as a family. Sometimes when we all get together again, we have about a week of readjusting to each other when we all regress a little and old issues resurface. After we re-establish equilibrium, the rest of the visit is great. This time, there weren't any adjustments or drama, just good times from the get go. Highlights of their trip include our stay in Santa Cruz, Mom's personal shopping appointment and just watching the look on Greyson's face when he sees Gong Gong. I'm glad we'll see each other in a month.

I'm way behind in posting photos of their trip, but here are some of my favorite videos. Here's Gong Gong playing with his grandkids at Santa Cruz. I love how agile my dad is. You'd never believe he was 65.

Another video from Santa Cruz. We had some excitement when Roque and Enoch "carried the fire" in from outside. My favorite part is when my dad tells the kids to blow at it and they all listen.