Race 2 - Day 23
Crew Diary - Race 2, Day 23
08 October

October 6th 2019, will forever be a memorable day for me. Far from my family and home, who I have been away now for the last two months for the race of my life (the circumnavigation of the world), my new Qingdao family made me live very specials and emotional moments.

At the end of our daily happy hour, Yadi surprised me by reminding the crew that we were the day of my 69th birthday. An instantaneous happy birthday song came out to my ears, squeezing my throat and leaving me wordless. A little can of coke was passed on to me from hand to hand; the rest of the crew were not left out since Franky meanwhile was handling a bigger bottle of coke to be shared with everyone. It’s amazing what a little bottle can do. It tasted like Champagne to my heart that day. Alfred came a few minutes later with a birthday cake, two candles that couldn’t stand the wind and a little happy birthday word sticking out. Everyone wrote their best wishes in a nice funny birthday card. I couldn’t hold myself to get around and give back everyone a warm hug.

But, this is not the end of the story. As I came to go to bed later that night, I found a happy birthday banner hanging to my bunk. Hidden in my storage pouch, a surprise gift from the crew was rapted with the Qingdao colour wollen treads. My favourite treat, a little bag of nuts and fruit was waiting for me. WOW! what a sweet thought from Michelle and Jannine I suspected because they were the only ones who knew how much I love them.

October 6 2019, will forever remain in my mind. Even if I was away and far from my loved ones, I was surrounded by plenty of love from my Qingdao family. I was hit with such a wave of love that water rolled over my cheek. I'm blessed to be surrounded with such wonderful people who are rising me up, making me stand on mountains and walk on stormy seas.

Thanks to Michelle and George who helped me to learn and understand how works this blog.