You may have heard the rumors…and I’m here to tell you–they’re true!  During the month of July Christa, Anna, and Sarah will all be returning to the Seattle area for a visit.

If you do the math, this leaves yours truly in Xining….HOME ALONE!!!

Shocking, I know.

This was not an easy decision for Christa and I to come to, but she really felt like she wanted to connect with family and friends back home this summer after a challenging first-year overseas.  She felt like a short visit home would make the next two years (before we have an extended time in the States again) much more endurable/enjoyable.  I, on the other hand, felt like if I made this trip back to the States (after only a year here) it would make my adjustment to China MORE difficult rather than easier.  (Plus, yetis hate to fly and I’ve had enough of those trans-Pacific flights for a while…)

Anyway, this plan made the most sense, even though it’s sort of strange for a married couple with kids to be separated for such a long period of time.  It will be strange living like a "bachelor" again, especially in a different country.

We tried to keep this information pretty low-key because basically it’s just a "personal" visit for Christa and the girls. Christa’s aunt (VERY) generously paid the airfare for her and the girls to visit Seattle.  I’ll most likely still have language classes until the third week of July anyway, so it looks like everything will work out fine for all of us.

But the big question that keeps coming up which REALLY is the inspiration for this post is:

What am I going to spend all my time doing while my family is away?

It’s a very good question and since it has been coming up so often I thought I’d share a few of my ideas thusfar.  These are just ideas and are, of course, subject to change:

• Avoid unnecessary responsibility at any cost.  This is a golden and unique opportunity I have before me.  I don’t think I need to draw a picture for you, do I?  Let’s just say that "sleep-in" days in July have just become mandatory and shaving has become optional.  If Xining was as internet-consumer friendly a city as Seattle, I likely wouldn’t leave my apartment at all.
• Work on my jump shot and post-up moves.  I was delighted to recently discover that they put up basketball hoops at the back of the Haiguan Duimian Apartment Complex (i.e. where we live).  What better time to "get my shot back"…
• Try to join up with a group of Tibetan yakherders for the month of July as they wander the high plateau.  Since I’m allergic to dogs, pollen, dust mites, grass, leaves, shadows, caterpillars, and most other fluora and fauna that our gracious God created, do you think being around furry yak will pose any breathing problems for me?  Naaah, me neither.  Just checking…
• Master Chinese.  I thought I would surprise Christa by being fluent when she comes back.  Attainable goals are for pansies…
• Together with my friend Josh (who will be visiting in July) train to become a ninja.  I think in this increasingly post-modern, high-tech, and globalized world we are entering into there will be no shortage of opportunities for well-trained ninjas.  Call it a hunch.
• Write a novel/story/collection of essays.  This idea is legitimate.  Of all my crazy ideas, I’d really like to try this one–to devote a bulk of my time in July to writing.  For a family man like me, a quiet house and a relatively open month on the calendar does not come around…EVER…better make something of it.
• Refine my abilities in playing the air-guitar, lip synching, and posing in front of the bathroom mirror.
• Take the new train route from Xining to Lhasa.  (Oh, that would be so cool…but it could cut into my new sleep-in/play basketball/master chinese schedule…)
• Cry a lot because I miss my family so much.  I talk pretty tough, but I’ll be missing them from the get-go.  Thank the Lord for Skype, eh?
• Fulfill a slightly insane fantasy I’ve had for some time now to watch Peter Jackson’s (uncut, extended scene version of) The Lord of the Rings straight through from beginning to end.  (That’s a full day right there…)  At the end I’ll be whimpering, "My precious…my precious…," as I hide my light-deprived eyes under the cushions of our leather couch.
• Hold enlightening conversations with myself over my staple bowl of cereal or macaroni and cheese.  I’m told this is consultation-with-self is something that certain single people do often…
• Enjoy the silence.  (Think Depeche Mode.) Actually, I see this time as one in which I can really seek the Lord and spend time in His presence.  I have felt like I need a "sabbatical" (so to speak) where I can be available, practice some spiritual disciplines, and really get a sense for what He might have for me and my family in the year ahead.  I’m a big believer in the importance of dedicated times of solitude with God.
• Read great books.  ‘Nuff said.
• Catch up on correspondence, newsletter writing, figure out that global peace/cancelling third-world debt agenda I’ve been procrastinating completing the past few years.  Hey, I’ve got some prioritization issues, OK!
• Blog
• Defend my home against Joe Pesci-like gangsters using Anna & Sarah’s Dora the Explorer toys, household appliances, and my boyish good looks.  [Hint: Home Alone allusion for those of you who are pop-culturally-impaired]

So that’s some of what I’ll be doing here in the month of July.  I might not get around to all of the above, but I am setting my sights pretty high (as you can tell.)  Hope those of you who can get a chance to visit with Christa and the girls.  Meanwhile, you can think of me, little Caulie McJohnson, faithfully holding down the fort in Xining…

Screaming at the top of my lungs.  A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.