已經好一陣子沒有寫網誌，而單車訓練亦比起自己起初想做的少，原因有工作繁忙、天氣差和懶惰！

It’s been a while since I last wrote a blog article. I had done less training on the bike as I initially planned, simply because of busy schedule at work, poor weather condition and laziness.

上星期五把Julian帶到嫲嫲家去。他知道去過嫲嫲家後，再上幾天學就可以去旅行，搭飛機。未搭過飛機的他，非常興奮！嫲嫲前陣子買了個室外泳池，我已經估到她會忍不著讓他去游水。可惜是他剛咳好，我們還要去旅行呢！跟她說過這個，但仍是在星期六讓他游。那天只得十九二十度，有風呢！唉，看不到就罷啦！請大家不要在此用英文對這點作任何留言，免得我被老公投訴呢！

Last Friday I brought Julian to Grandma’s house. He knew that after staying for a couple days, then he would need to go to school for a couple days, followed by a vacation with going by plane. He has never been on a plane, so he is pretty excited about it.

星期六，我們一早把單車放好在車尾架上，帶齊飲品與運動補充體力小吃就出發了。我那個早上心情很緊張，擔心自己的能力，又擔心太多人群，怕自己會失去平衡，自己跌倒也好，令人家都一起跌就不好了！老公不停鼓勵我，又跟我說慢慢來，說不是比賽，只要參與才是最重要！

On Saturday, we got our bikes loaded onto the bike carrier behind our car, got our drinks and energy bars ready before we left. I was quite nervous that morning, worrying about my ability, and worrying about the crowds, fearing I would fall and end up not only hurting myself, but others. Luckily, my husband kept on encouraging me, telling me that we would take it easy, and that it wasn’t a race, but an event that taking part was what it all mattered.

去到會場，嫲嫲帶了Julian和我們會合，不過嫲嫲怕之後封路後塞車，所以他們逗留了一陣就走了，Julian有點兒失望，見不到我們起步。與他們揮手後，我們在會場等了一陣子。然後大會請了位歌手Brandi Russels高歌一曲 The Rose後，我們便出發了！因為人很多，起初大家都要行幾步才可真正踏起單車。

Once we got there, we met up with Julian and Grandma, but they didn’t stay long since Grandma was afraid to be stuck when they closed off the roads for the ride. Julian was a bit disappointed by not being able to stay and watch. We headed to the starting point shortly after we waved goodbye to them. The Ride started after the singer, Brandi Russels, sang the song “the Roses”. There were a lot of people, so we even had to walk a short bit before we could really bike.

最特別的是，因為大會安排了交通指揮員，封了路給我們在大馬路，迴旋處上踏單車，通行無阻。這個經驗都是第一次！起頭的十公里與最後的十公里的風速大了些。最後的十公里相信是最辛苦的，不過我不停告訴自己快達到目標啦，跟自己打氣。老公有幾次催我快些，有時，我真想打他，哈哈！不過沒有他，我那天就不會在那兒踏單車。

The nice experience I had was they had traffic controllers on the road, closing the road or stopping the traffic for us. It was so cool to be biking on the road, on a roundabout! My very first time! The first 10 and the last 10 km we had quite a bit wind, and the last 10 km was probably the most difficult part of the Ride. I just had to tell myself we were almost there, to get myself going. My hubby rushed me a few times, and I guess without him, I would not have been there at all!

我們見到幾位單身年紀大些的人踏，單車上寫著：『我是為XXX踏』而那些名字，可能是他們曾經或仍在與癌症戰鬥的另一半。我們在網上見到某些參加者留言，都是說是為他們因癌症而失去的親人而參與的。我雖然幸運地不是為此而參加，我仍深深感受到這個善事的用意。

We noticed during the ride, there were some older people riding alone, and on the bike, they had a sticker on saying “I’m riding for XXX”. And those names seemed to be for their other half’s who might have died from cancer or are still fighting against cancer. We had seen some entries on the guest book on the Ride for the Roses site that some people were riding for those whom they had lost from cancer. We have been lucky enough that we weren’t riding because of that reason, but we both could really feel the great meaning of this Ride.

我和老公在兩小時五十二分鐘肉完成了五十公里，雖然不是很快，但我為了完成此項挑戰而很感滿足！或許明年，多些訓練可以再次參加。老公想為一百二十公里作挑戰，不知我能否做到呢？！

My hubby and I biked for 2 hours and 52 mins for the 50 km. Okay, it wasn’t fast, but I was very pleased that I’d made it! Maybe next year, with some training, I can do better. My hubby is already aiming for 120 km! Hm, not sure if I can do that.

踏完後，入住之前訂好了的酒店，來個按摩泡泡浴，真是一大享受！星期天回家途中把Julian接了回家。

After the ride, we checked into the hotel we booked, had a nice jacuzzi bath. What a pamper! Then on Sunday we picked up Julian on our way home.

今天，亦是我們放假的第二天，一早起來，老公帶了Mac (貓貓)去閹割，否則有見Mac是出外玩的貓貓，不做的話，相信這條村會多了不少Mac Mini’s。另外，再加ID chip，有便走失了容易找回。

Today was our 2nd day of our vacation, yet we had to get up early. My hubby had to bring Mac to the vet for his castration. Seeing he is playing outside often, we don’t want to see a bunch of Mac Mini’s out there in the neighborhood. We also had an ID chip done at the same time, so that if he ever gets lost, we can hopefully find him.

而我就帶Julian上學去。Julian對於我和Daddy有假放，而他還要上學有些不滿，說是不公平。小朋友這樣小已說世界不公平，遲些有更多不公平的事要面對！

I brought Julian to school then. Julian was saying how unfair it was that he still had to go to school while mommy and daddy didn’t. It was a bit amusing to see a small child claiming it was not fair already, and I can assure you he will face more unfair cases in the future.

之後，我和老公吃個午餐，去了買新地板來替Julian房鋪，當然是要自己安啦！下星期才有貨，這兒就是經常要等送貨。有些傢俬如Julian的衣櫃要等六個星期呢！

Then we went for some lunch, and ordered some laminate floor which my hubby will put on for Julian’s room’s floor next week. Over here, you always have to face delivery terms of weeks, like Julian’s clothing closet which takes over 6 weeks.

在地板店看到個梳化廣告，於是又去了看看，想不到說了一年多買新梳化，今天又買了！我跟老公的品味差不多，所以我們從未試過為買那個傢俬而吵架，吵的只會為價錢的，哈哈！

In the shop, we also saw an ad of some couches, so we went to have a look at the shop. We had been saying we needed a new couch for over a year, and I can’t believe we actually found THE ONE! Luckily my hubby and I have similar tastes on these things, so we hardly fight over what to buy, probably more likely on the prices.

這套新梳化又可以幾天內送貨，於是我們便把舊的那一套放上網免費送出去。起初來個電郵，那個人還想我送貨，真的太過份啦！免費還想要人送貨！幸好之後，不少人回應，最後由一位以一箱啤酒作交易的人要了，明天自己來拿，真好！

This new couch will be delivered within the coming days, so we had to give away our old couch, so I put that on the internet. The first reply was someone asking if it could be delivered to his house. Come on, it was already for free, so what could you expect? Luckily, shortly after that, there were plenty of replies, and one of them was someone offering to trade that with a crate of beer tomorrow. Sure why not?!

跟著，接了Julian放學，一起去獸醫處接回Mac，Julian立即要求自己拿Mac。回家放下Mac後，又要趕回學校，因為今日見家長。上次見家長時，說Julian像不愛上學。今次老師說他進步了很多。學識與智商發展比一個四歲半的小孩還要高，可以達到五歲多的程度。我和老公都覺得他三語教育下成長相信幫到他不少。老師們有說及Julian情緒方面就差些，比較情緒化。我自己小時候是喊包，相信這個亦可能是遺傳了給他。所以老師們說還是讓他下個學期留在幼兒第一班。她們強調這不是留班，只是讓他跟隨他的進度發展，我和老公完全贊同。少少一年半載，相對起一生又算得是甚麼呢？況且他只是上年十一月才入學，我們寧願他開心快樂地去學習，好過強迫他去做他未能做到的事。老師們說他是個乖孩子，很愛幫人，說我們要以他為榮。這個我們當然會啦，就算老師不說，我們也會！而他的情感發展，我們會慢慢教他。我想這不只是Julian的成績單，還是我們做父母的成績表！

After that, we went to pick up Julian from school, and went together to the vet to pick up Mac. Julian wanted to hold Mac himself. We dropped Mac off at home, and rushed back to Julian’s school, since today we had a school talk concerning his developments. Last time when we had the 1st school talk, they wondered if Julian liked school at all or not. This time the teacher said he improved quite a lot over the half year. His knowledge and intelligence is higher than any 4 and 1/2 years old child, and can reach above 5 years old level. My husband and I felt that the tri-lingual brought up was really paying off a bit. The teacher said though that Julian’s emotional skills are a bit on the poor side. He can get pretty emotional. I was a crying girl at school when I was little, so that probably was inherited from me. The teachers decided to have Julian stay in the same group the coming school term. They insisted that he isn’t really being held to repeat the same class, but to allow him to develop at his own pace. My husband and I agreed. Just a half year to a year extra is nothing comparing to a whole lifetime of development. He started school last year in November, and we would rather him to enjoy learning than having to force him to achieve things that he isn’t ready for. The teachers said he is a good sweet boy, loves helping others, and told us that we should be proud of him. We are certainly proud of him no matter what. We will work on the emotional intelligence with him. This is not only a report of Julian’s development but us as parents, I am proud to hear how smart he is.

Tags: Brandi Russels, delta ride for the roses, Emotional intelligence, KMF Kanker bestrijding, laminate, Mac, The Rose