WILL He or Won't He?

Updated: Jul 22

This week we celebrated the first birthday of our youngest grandchild, Wilford Case Foley. Our second youngest grandchild is Willow Jean Kruman-Foley and both sets of parents like to call them Will. (I call them both by their full first names so I won't get too mixed up.) We are so thankful to have each of our grandchildren as part of our family!

As I review the day of Wilford's birth last year I am filled with many thoughts and emotions. My father was still in the hospital and we were just deciding about hospice as we realized more clearly that he was in his final days of mortality. We were facing the thrill and excitement of the new life coming to the world that is Wilford along with the sadness and mourning for the impending end of my father's life. I was filled with joy both for Wilford's arrival and also joy that my father would soon experience relief from a failing body and mind. I was filled with sadness for the separation we would experience and that my father would never be well enough to really meet his new grandson. That is the way of life: truly beautiful and sometimes tragic all at the same time.

In my younger days I would often hope to be "asked out" on a Friday night. That's the language we used at the time for going on a casual date paired off with someone, and Friday nights were the expected nights for that to happen. It didn't happen that often for me as a pretty shy teenager but I didn't stop wondering if "he would or he wouldn't" ask (whoever he might be). Now days, Sean and I love to have our Friday night date/adventures and I'm not wondering if he will ask because that is our set plan. Here are a few or our recent Friday night date nights while we have been in Singapore:

Dinner and a movie. We tried a pasta place called Twisted that was supposed to be something of a regular pasta/Asian fusion. I had a salmon pesto pasta that included a fried egg, sliced almonds, and a very strong pesto sauce. Overall I didn't love it and it won't be on my list of returns, but it was an adventure. Afterwards we went to the movie theater! (Yes, senior missionaries can go to movies) We saw Inside Out 2 which I loved just as much as I loved the first one.
Gardens by the Bay Light Show. Gardens by the Bay is in the most well known tourist area in Singapore. It is a beautiful area of gardens, pathways, and supertrees (metal instead of natural). There is a mixture of free areas and those with fees. So far we have only explored the free parts in our several visits there, but will be going to the others before we leave. This last week we finally went to the free light show that they do every night and watched the supertrees light up to a medley of Broadway musical songs. It was fun to play "Name that Broadway Tune" and see how many we knew and could even sing along with. Here is a clip:

Walks. This has not been an option as much as I wished, as I am still struggling off and on with my foot bothering me. However we were recently able to explore a lovely walkway along Keppel Bay. It was also a nice evening with a light breeze to keep the humidity down just a bit. We have done a few walks on the 36 KM (22 Mile) Coast to Coast trail. Our goal is to traverse it completely (though not all at once!) before we leave Singapore.
The Chosen. One of our favorite things to do over the past few years is watch and re-watch this series. We have loved this this depiction of the life of Jesus Christ and His followers. We have watched each season numerous times and were so excited to finally be able to see the 4th season which came out in theaters in the US (but not Singapore) after we left. We have now almost completed it for the second time. This show has made us think differently about some of the events recorded in the New Testament. It has helped us to love Jesus Christ even more and appreciate His sacrifice in more profound ways.
Soundscapes: Sounds of Religions Yesterday we had the opportunity to attend an interfaith event in Singapore. We were led through the religious sounds starting with silence and meditation with a Buddhist sister which incorporated some interesting ties to mindfulness and acceptance of our thoughts that I often use in my therapy work. We then experienced a Christian Labyrinth and the sounds of feelings of our bodies moving through that experience with a Catholic brother. (It made us think of "the covenant path" we often discuss in our faith). We were then introduced to sounds and instruments used to call for prayer in the Muslim faith as well as those special to Hindus. At the end we enjoyed short musical performances by performers of the Muslim and Sikh faiths. Here is a clip:

It was very thought provoking to learn more of these religions and more of the religious climate in Singapore, where members of our church are a very small minority.

Well in the end the answer to "WILL he or won't he?" is....Yes! God will answer our prayers, Wilford will have a wonderful first birthday, and Sean will ask me out on a date this week and every week!