Last Thursday we were saddened to hear of the death of Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej. He was the longest-reigning monarch and beloved by his people. In the days since his passing, I have learned a lot about his life, and why the Thai were so enamoured with him. He adored his country and personally saw to countless projects to make it better, every day that he could. I'm particularly impressed with his work with street dogs.
Thailand is officially a country in mourning, and will be for up to a year. Those of us who are not Thai have no real grasp of what this means. Maybe we'll begin to 'get it' when we're over there... but at the very least, we have to be careful not to offend by (inadvertently!) showing any disrespect. The main thing we can do is wear black. Those of you who know me know that I love bright colours... hence a shopping trip is in order before I start to pack. And I've checked - it'll be okay for Lucy to be in coloured clothing, which is good, because black is not easy to find in 18 - 24 month clothing around here, especially not in what's left in summer wear.
As far as we know, everything is still on track in terms of our meetings and important dates, and her adoption will proceed as planned.
All for now. Our most sincere condolences to the Thai people.
