The family news

Had a wonderful time in Oregon, as usual. My mom has recently been diagnosed with diabetes, but since she and Dad had switched diets because of his hypoglycemia, she's already in good shape on that score, although she still has to take an insulin-surrogate called Metformin. She is the third of her siblings to get diabetes, and her father had it as well. Am I doomed? My dad's dad had it too. Meanwhile, my dad had all but some anchor teeth pulled last winter, and he is feeling much better than he has in recent years. It may turn out that his hypoglycemia was in fact caused by low-grade gum infections.

But the big surprise news of the weekend is that my sister is staying in China for another year. She is taking a different job, in Hunan province. Everybody in the family but Dad and I is going to China next month to visit her and tour the country. We're all agog that she's so comfortable living on her own in a foreign land. You go, girl! She's studying Mandarin and sending back fascinating accounts of her adventures. Why retire young if you aren't going to have some adventures and learn some more about the world? I'm pretty impressed with my big sister.