Vilina may or may not be able to leave, but we had a good-bye party, just in case. She has a flight out of San Francisco on June 16, but she doesn't have a Chinese Entry and Exit permit. It's been a nightmare trying to get hers renewed, but I think we have finally made some progress. Just FYI, the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco does not answer the phone, return messages, check email or answer Facebook messenger. Ever. The last day of school, I was mad, frustrated and panicked at the whole ordeal, but Medina, Vilina's mother, calmed me down. Her demeanor is very soft-spoken and kind. She said we should not think about it over the weekend, and that we could hope it would work itself out naturally. Lo and behold, we had a breakthrough on Monday.
But meanwhile, we did put it out of our minds and had a lovely party!
Vilina wanted to decorate with pictures of her from her year here. It was cute, and her classmates enjoyed looking at all the pictures. She has had a good year and done a lot of fun things.
Vilina spent all day decorating and cleaning the house. I knew we might not have time for a party later as the summer ramps up, so we squeezed it in the day after school let out, even though Freestone had two performances that day, and the kids all had ballet in the morning. Little did we know that Vilina would be invited to three other parties that weekend, and this would be the fourth. Or that my dear, sweet cousin Laura Pexton would pass away, and her funeral would be that same day. I just decided not to sweat it. I went to Laura's funeral. It was wonderful. She has been fiercely battling cancer for 17 years, and she has accomplished remarkable things. I loved seeing my cousins and aunts and uncles, and having time to visit with them after the funeral in beautiful Cottonwood Heights. Laura wrote a book called Miracles of Service, about her many overseas medical missions and her fight with cancer. It's on Kindle for 99 cents if you want to be inspired.
After the funeral, I met Scott and my parents at Freestone's matinee of Ballet West's spring show. I love seeing him dance! He looked so good up there! And I love hearing all the backstage stories after, too. This time, I didn't wait after, though. I hurried home to help with the party. I picked up the pizza and the balloons that Vilina requested. Golda had worked the music store and then gone home to help Vilina. The house looked great. Soon, friends came and they slowly loosened up and had a fun night playing games outside and being kids.
Mrs. Kunz even stopped by. The kids adore her. She has been the absolute best teacher for Vilina. She was so caring and understanding, and just took Vilina in stride. And Vilina made lots of good friends, too. You would think kids would be intimidated by the language barrier, but they're not.
Scott and I left midway through the festivities to go back for another BW performance, and Golda had the job of wrapping things up. I love having her around to be part of things. We missed her while she was on her mission! We'll miss Vilina, too. She is a big, energetic presence. I can't imagine how her parents must ache for her. Send up a prayer that her Entry and Exit Permit will be approved!
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