Written at 9:00 p.m. on October 20, 2014 at the Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport while waiting for my 10:40 p.m. flight back to Guangzhou.
When Jeff told me he went to Church with the twins last Sunday (while I was vacationing in Shanghai), the first thought in my mind was: “Gosh. I hope the twins are dressed okay.”
And then, I panicked.
I was always the expert in bringing the twins on my own – to the pool, to the airport, to anywhere I needed to go but have to take them with me because we made the decision that we don’t leave the twins with a nanny – and I thought that Jeff won’t be the most enthusiastic person to bring two active toddlers with a baby bag (full of milk, diapers, sipping cups, baby wipes, and powder) in tow.
I underestimated my husband.
I couldn’t believe it when he told me that he managed to take the twins to Church. That means Jeff fed them, gave them a bath, got them dressed, walked them to the taxi stand, took a 15-minute ride to the place where Church is, took the twins out of the taxi, walked them to the second floor where Church is, etc. etc.
Taking care of twins is a lot of hard work – and even when I was there to split the tasks with him, we would always end up exhausted. Up to this very moment, I still can’t imagine how he did all these. This is the first time after 15 months that I left the kids with their Dad. I wasn’t worried because I thought they will just stay at home doing the usual routine. To take them out to Church to actually socialize and meet people is such a Herculean task and I am more than proud of Jeff for doing it.
My four-day trip around Shanghai to have some time for myself and meet some friends was fun and reflective. I have always considered travel as a necessity and I am glad that I took this trip. I had time to think and recharge and reminisce the wonderful times I spent in Shanghai as a foreign language student. It was also awesome to meet four of my friends from The Outstanding Students of the Philippines Alumni Community, who visited Beijing and Shanghai.
I met new friends too. There was Faith from Chengdu who works in Shanghai. I rode the same bus with her on my way back to Shanghai from Zhujiajiao Ancient Town. I gave her her English name. She spoke in Mandarin; I answered in English and some Chinese. There was Jun, the coolest Chinese waiter I met, who loves reggae and sported dread locks while waiting tables. I had 1.5 liters of beer after five hours of walking around Zhujiajiao and he was more than pleasant to the tired traveler and told me stories about evolution of music in China and how the older Chinese view them (Jun: “They said I’m weird.” Me: “Are you?” Jun: “I think. Weird is good.”) And then, there was Tiff, that pretty woman who became my roommate in a youth hostel, who finally found a job as a bank teller in Shanghai eight months after college graduation.
I had a great time. But… I am ready to go home. I can’t wait to hug Jeff and tell him how amazing he is as a father and how wonderful he is as a husband for giving me some time to travel alone. Again.
The twins’ godmother and my good friend, Payi Villar, said that maybe Jeff is a wizard; that’s why we have mutants (twins who grow up so fast) and that’s why he accomplished the one thousand tasks I left for him to do while I was spending “me time”.
He is. He is a wizard. I am so glad and blessed and thankful that I married one.
