1)         Reunion participants were able to visit the White House exteriors on Sunday, 10/14, one of the four days in a year when the White House opens to the public.  We meandered through the South lawn, East lawn and West Lawn as we admired the Rose garden, the back yard of the Oval office, and numerous trees planted by former and present presidents and first ladies.

2)         Tai-Shan, the baby panda showed up and took a morning snack in front of a group of ecstatic spectators.  The panda family usually are taking naps close to noon rather than feeding.  We are very grateful for the encounter.  There are only two days a year when female pandas can be fertilized.  A new born panda weighs only four ounces, like a stick of butter.  This is a species bound to be extinct without human intervention.  According to 郭麗美 (Li-Mei), the de facto tour guide of bus #1, in order to keep Tai-Shan's parents staying in the DC zoo, the city pays one million dollars a year to the Chinese government. There is a twist in the lease agreement that Tai-Shan is not part of the deal.  We just can not apply the 'place of birth' rule to make him a US citizen.  Most of us are just hopelessly falling in love with pandas.

The epiphanies I perceived in the reunion are many.  Ms. Jan Lo put it well in her recap, "..As mothers we were used to fend for our families so we knew how much effort the hosts had put into making things flow smoothly.  We sometimes neglected taking care of ourselves so we could feel the seamless comfort we enjoyed had come at the expense of someone's hard work…".  Our roles have always been care givers, such as parents, daughters, sisters, aunts, friends, co-workers, etc.  With the die hard habit for excellence, we took a break from it and enjoy the luxury of being care takers. I have to mention the promoter of the reunion, 陸純之 , who made about 2000 calls to prop up the attendance.  I received two calls from her even after I committed to attend.  Therefore, all my DC friends, thank you, thank you, thank you……

At the Friday night dinner, 吳鳳芝 led the convocation with a word of prayer to bless every attendant.  It set a revere and thankful tone for the success of the program.  At the banquet night, the top price winner donated her price to the next reunion.  It stirred up ripples of love and kindness. I was moved by her generosity and thoughtfulness.  I also learned that the 30th Beinu reunion committee passed on the fund balance to the 35th reunion committee.

At the reunion, I sensed the quiet confidence in the midst of us.  Our good old Confucius put it well, "At age 50, we know our calls".  I like to add that we have made peace with our own calls.  There was this internal beauty emitted from the group into the atmosphere as we were conversing, nodding, smiling and laughing.  I sensed the deep down nurturing comfort offered by classmates as we built each other up with positive notes.  To me, there is a bonus.  My hubby who attended the reunion renews his respect to Beinu graduates.  I am honored to associate with the spirit of Beinu.

In gratefulness,

徐   萊 (H18) also known as Lucy Guo