Tea and Tissues….

I’m sure I will be getting the tissues out in this much needed film…

Couch Potato Pickings | The History Boys -a gr…, posted with vodpod

My Shangri-La Wish!

"Cancer will not take the memory of my Mother away"

This morning I was pouring my cup of tea( in my favorite red little teapot) and I looked outside and thought…Does anyone anymore think about a place called Shangri-La? Do you wonder if there was ever such a place and if there was,would you want to go? Would you ask yourself questions like-What would it look like? What kind of people would you have around? What kind of food would be there? Does everyone look the same and/or talk the same? Is there lots of different cultures blending together as if one? Is there ever going to be another war, because there is no hate and greed? Who would you have be there with you in your Shangri-La? After watching the movie “Lost Horizon” last night I couldn’t help but think about those questions.

Then my journey to Shangra-La began..I thought about it for a while and ask myself  ”What would My Shangri-La be like and where?”Man’s search for this has been for centuries.. I was thinking could this place called Shangri-La be inside our mind? Could we we have our own Shangri-La inside ourselves just waiting to share with our family,friends and people whom we have just meet? Can you imagine a place where everything is peaceful and we are content and wanting for nothing. Aren’t we all looking for some form of love, happiness, or utopia that’s sustainable? Why can’t we have it? Why aren’t we empowered by people  in the past and present who have given there lives for our sake-Who have dedicated themselves for world Peace,No hunger, Freedom and had lived their life like they were living in a Shangri-La!

So there I was sitting outside at my patio table finishing my Oolong tea thinking about “My Shangri-La”when all of a sudden a group of Dragonflies and butterflies surrounded me. They were flying around and it reminded me of my Mother. She loved butterflies and Dragonflies.  She just passed away not to long ago from Cancer. Actually it has only been 2 1/2 months. I used to call her for advise on certain things. Especially the things that made sad or things I just couldn’t figure out on my own. I would  ask  her for her thoughts on the subject at hand. . For instance when my Daughter was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and the Doctor’s told me I probably wouldn’t have her for very long..maybe 7 yrs of age.. I went to my Mother immediately for comfort.  Her advise was and always would be “You are the captain of your ship. You can either steer your thoughts in troubled, tumultuous waters or you can steer  your thoughts and actions in a  calm, restful place.  For there in your mind you will find peace and serenity”. Sometimes I would end up with my thoughts in a storm with Famine,war and hunger. But now after watching the movie ” Lost Horizon” last night and  thinking about my Mothers’ advice ,I will try  to be and stay in that place forever. Oh, I’m sure there will be times when I can’t find it “MY Shangri-La”. But I will make a conscious effort to!

This is dedicated to my mother Helen..Her love for Movies and Tea is what has inspired me to live life with no regrets,dignity and have a sense of duty to our fellow man.

“I Love you and miss you Mom”

My Left Foot and Hong Kong!

I was having a lovely cup of tea this afternoon and was looking out my window at this beautiful mountain in Sai Kung and  I was just wondering?? Does anyone care that the only school in Hong Kong for western children with severe disabilities is the Sara Roe Hong Kong Jockey Club School. Did you know that If you are Expat and you have  a child  with a severe disability that doesn’t speak chinese she or he could not attend just any school here in HK. In fact there is only one- JCSRS. I know it’s sounds absurd,but it’s true. Here we are in year 2010 and there is only one school here for western kids with extreme disabilities.

Hong Kong is one of the most famous International cities in the world.  If you want something and it’s not here they will find a way to get it here. But when it comes to the needs of English/Western individuals with disabilities they won’t or unable to find a solution.Most chinese children that have severe disabilities are covered, but the English kids are not. When I first moved here I brought my daughter to one of HK’s schools for the disabled. It was gorgeous. Play ground, large rooms, equipment,buses for transportation and physical therapist. It was a Parents dream. Everything you would want for you child if they were disabled. First when I called they told me to come take a look. They asked only a few questions. I explained my husband had lived here for 40 years and we were soon to be married. They said that there was plenty of room-Only 80 percent occupied.

Upon arrival they were shocked that me nor my daughter were not Chinese. In fact that question never even came up on the telephone interview.What happened next was the beginning of a long journey for me,my husband and Allie. The person that was in charge told me the school wasn’t the right place for my daughter. Even though when I looked around at all the pictures on the walls it reminded me of her last school in the States. Same wheelchairs,same rooms with equipment etc..He said it wouldn’t be fair to ALex or to the staff. Even though they were only at 80 percent occupied. It wouldn’t be fair because she was from a western family and she would never be able to understand the teachers and therapist…which I agreed with sadness.  My Husband who has been a permanent resident for a long time didn’t. He couldn’t believe that she couldn’t attend a school in a Country he loved so much. We were not mad just sad. We knew it would have been a challenge but kids like Allie don’t discriminate. I think they would have loved her being there. I believed in my heart it would have enlightened a lot of the staff and parents.But we both decided to go down the street like he suggested to another school. To my amazement there was nowhere here like that. We  were looking for weeks. I called and called different places but no one had any answers…One Day I was driving and I saw a van with Jockey’s Club Symbol with the Disabled logo.That’s when I finally found Sarah Roe..The ESF School for the Disaled.

I was fortunate enough that year to get my little girl in. I still feel extremely guilty about it. So many little ones with no place to go and nothing to do because they are put on a waiting list and no other schools to take them. Even if you have the money to pay the Tuition and car service- which is extremely expensive, the Facility just isn’t big enough!

So what can I do about it? I don’t know……I do know that my Daughter is one of  the fortunate ones. But there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think of the little kids that are sitting at home with nothing to do and no classmates to interact with….

Well I have finished my tea now and I am going to pull out the movie My Left Foot (with Daniel Day Lewis) and watch it tonight.  It always touches my heart when they discover he is alive inside and he has something to say!!!!! Anyone that is an Artist out there..You will love it!!! If anyone of you out there hasn’t seen it yet.. I wish you would.  The Gifts that these special people have waiting inside to show us are truly amazing.  I know we have such busy lives here in the world but they are alive inside and they do know what’s going on around them…..My daughter Allie wasn’t able to communicate , but now she is working on the new Apple with assistive Technology……Hopefully she can start blogging soon…-))

I dedicate this to all the Mom and Dad’s that worry about their children’s future..Whether they are Challenged Physically or not!!!

Tea Time

I have a passion for teapots and old movies. I know it sounds crazy. But if  a old  teapot could talk….can you imagine what it would say! All the conversations people have over drinking a cup of tea….

The phrase “They don’t make movies like they used to…” is an understatement. Casablanca…”What a movie”