This is one of my last posts from February before my blog went into a dead space. It was right before we went into the fifth wave. Looking back on it now, it was such a dark time for us. I think I published it at the time and then took it down because I was worried it was too negative:
Happy Valentines' Day to all. Lola gifted me and her dad some beautiful roses, and herself some chocolate (girl knows how to treat herself).
She made me the most touching card. This girl, I cannot get over how mature and adult and prescient some of her mannerisms and words are. She wished me a happy Valentines' Day and told me that I was her favorite, that she loves me, that I am her special Valentine, that she wanted me to be hers for always. How does one respond to that except with declarations of undying love, ad infinitum? I told her and I will shout it to the world that I am so lucky to have her as my daughter. Recently she started referring to me as "Mom". I jokingly refer to her as "Daughter." She is truly one of a kind, my favorite Daughter.
I can't say that Michael and I were too much in the mood to celebrate. It's been a rough time for us in Hong Kong, as the government here struggles to come to terms with Omicron and continues to pursue a Zero Covid strategy. Everyone is more afraid here of the consequences of receiving a compulsory testing notice or being discovered to be positive, than of actually having the virus itself. The kids' schools and activities are all largely shuttered. Even private lessons and tutors have ceased as teachers try to protect themselves and their students. We are Zooming and Zooming and working from home and the greatest psychological pain has probably been realizing that we are still in what feels like a time zone warp of 2020, while the rest of the world is moving on.
Currently residents of Hong Kong who left for 2-3 week Christmas holidays in the US, UK, and Canada are only, after Herculean efforts and who knows how much money spent, coming back to Hong Kong, nearly 2.5-3 months after they initially left. There are all kinds of stringent restrictions in place (no more than two households may gather at home, no more than 2 people not from the same household may gather in public, no dining out after 6 pm) which is on top of rules that have already been in place for 2.5 years (face masks at all times), and often do not make sense. The compulsory testing orders and backlog of resources leave people waiting in line to get tested with no social distancing while a mother and two children cannot go out to dine together because that would violate the 2 persons per table rule. The people here are weary and the mental and emotional toll is heavy.
I spent last night binge watching romantic comedies on Netflix and eating chocolate...
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