Thank You Snow

The snow I awoke to on Saturday was more influential than I could have imagined. On Saturday morning Woody and Sherry planned to leave on a flight for Beijing. When I left for work at 7 I thought I would return to an empty apartment, lonely for their company that I've grown to love and treasure. Additionally, that morning, John and Mary along with the three girls (interpreters) set off for Cook Qiao's wedding in Yimin.

When I returned home for lunch at noon, to my surprise I found Sherry and Woody lounging in the living room! Their flight was delayed, pending notice and as we waited they told me the news of John's party. Apparently the snow hit even harder outside the city, for all highways were closed to traffic and John could see nothing but drifting, swirling snow as he drove towards Yimin. They were stopped multiple times by the police, each time convincing them that John's four-wheel drive truck could manage the treacherous roads. After arriving at the wedding three hours late, they discovered they were ahead of the bride and her party! We later found out that the wedding did indeed take place that day, just about 5 hours later than originally planned, guaranteeing a day to be remembered forever.

At 1 pm we learned that Sherry and Woody's flight would not be delayed a few hours, but rather canceled and rescheduled for Sunday evening. Although they were a bit stressed over how this unexpected stranding would alter their duties in Beijing and Tianjin, we were all happy to spend one more relaxing evening together. And relax we did! All three of us shared a randomly-point-to-the-menu-to-order- and-pray-for-something-palatable dinner and then Sherry and I went and had our nails painted. For about three US dollars I received a very nice French manicure that has lasted thus far without a single chip! When I take the annoyingly large amount of time to do this for myself at home, I undoubtedly ruin a nail within 24 hours. After this little indulgence we returned to our apartment for a night of singing songs and studying.

Sunday brought about more fellowship as we attended a morning meeting, ate an early lunch and then played some Yahtzee. When we finally bid each other farewell on Sunday afternoon, I was even more reluctant to see my two wonderful 'grandparents' and house mates leave. I am grateful for all the time we had together learning and growing and I am hopeful that I will again see them this side of heaven.

But until then, I'm alone again.