Catching up with accompaniment

Rarely do I have time to read the newspaper or watch the news, so I get most of my news from the Internet. Not some crazy site, just off of Dallas News or Yahoo.

Tonight I glanced at the headline of how Lehman Brothers' execs had ensured their top brass would have millions as they came to the government with their hand out.

These stories have frustrated me so much recently, as I fret and worry about the future, making decisions about whether we can eat out, paying off the last of Grace's eye surgery, facing new bills for Annabel, while others are taking advantage of those of us who work.

But and this is a giant BUT, I doubt they can feel the sense of joy and contentment I can feel sitting here typing away while accompanied by Grace practicing the piano, Annabel with her chair pulled as close as she can to Grace, and Annabel wanting me to label each piece that Grace plays as PERFECT!! And demanding to know when I label a piece as good or very good, but not perfect.

While the story of the milk in China might have had very little coverage here, it has made a deep impact in our household. While in China, Grace found her ABSOLUTELY FAVORITE Chinese milk. Don't ask me what it is as the label is all in Chinese. I guess it is a yogurty/milk thing.

In one suitcase, which I bought there, I packed the entire thing with food I knew we could not find here, this milk (that requires no refrigeration), assorted candies, anything we could find to help Annabel's first few days not be so traumatic. I shudder to think about how Grace felt those first weeks home.

Since we have been home, we have searched EVERY Asian market for some of these items as we ran out. Our area of Dallas has NO Asian markets. The Chinese restaurants are not even owned by anyone close to Asian descent.

With the gas, time, and money invested, we had a good supply of these favorites.

Now I am learning more and more about the Chinese milk "scandal" and realize that ALL that we have on hand is suspect. The products contain melamine. They cause huge kidney stones. They have killed an undetermined number of children in China. How can someone be so greedy to hurt children?

OK, enough musings. The next post or previous, depending on how they show up, will be back to my girls!