My Jiangxi mother

Annabel has reached a place that I remember Grace went through too.

We have been home less than 2 months, but there are so many new memories crowding in and new people and experiences, that the life in Jiangxi is harder to keep on top.

Today we were discussing how some older people begin to shake. She told me her Jiangxi mother was 90 and Jiangxi father was 102 and neither shook! I met these people and neither were anywhere near that age. But she needed them to be able to overcome some of the issues from living in America.

Later we went to a garage sale and she chose a basketball. It cost $5.

She told us that her Jiangxi mother had bought her one that cost $8.

I told her that her grandfather could help her learn to play basketball.

I can't even remember how we began to talk about people's strength, but she knew her Jiangxi father was strong, stronger than Poppa. Grace argued with her that Poppa was stronger. She was very disappointed in that. I told her she was strong.

No, she did not want to be strong if her Jiangxi father was not strong. I told her she and her Jiangxi father were strong. That seemed to help.

Grace and I will talk about this more to help her understand the importance of preserving these memories in Annabel's heart and mind. These "parents" need to kept in a special place in her memory.