For the first time in more than two years I slept eight entire hours. That’s right, last night I slept like a tired toddler. I’m usually up-and-at-em after four or five hours of shui jiao, a rather distressing habit.

I awoke beside the lovely Mrs. Stevo, the sun streaming through the somewhat dirty window. I could hear birds chirping and students laughing as they walked to school. Idyllic comes to mind.

Upon leaving the haven of our bed I was assaulted by real life. There was no coffee in the kitchen. In fact, there was a live, fox-like creature inside a burlap bag, a present from my brother-in-law, who was sleeping blissfully on the sofa. In the shower the only soap available was broken little bits. My towel was wet, forgotten to be hung out to dry the day before.

I thought of crawling back into bed and returning to dreamland (aside: dreamland was a term used by USAF pilots for Area 51). There was no turning back. I soldiered on.

More about the fox-like creature in a further post….