22/52

"a portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2016."

Stella: It was our first full week in China. And you're doing surprisingly well. You're settling into your new school, even though you don't yet understand the language. You're making friends even though you can't quite communicate. Your courage really astounds me. To be honest, I feel like I hardly remember this week as I was sick in bed with a terrible case of the flu. But somehow you did all of this. And you turned six. And you lost a tooth. 

Hugo: You're still having a hard time. I get it. This is a big change for you. And, plus, I've been sick in bed and fairly unavailable to you. Still, I've been enjoying the one-on-one time we've been having. Hanging out just you and me, even if I've been too sick to do anything more than lie on the floor while you push cars around. It's really special this quiet, in between time we been having as we're getting accustomed to our new life here.