How was the final day of my adventure meeting my sister from Vietnam for the first time? It was a wild ride emotionally with some unexpected turns as our plans changed this morning and we struggled to make an adjustment while considering everyone's feelings and preferences. We finally settled on meeting at Somerset Mall to build on our previous experiences on day 1, day 2, and day 3.

With three floors of stores, the mall was fancy beyond belief and filled with beautiful people shopping! All of this was an unusual sight for me to see given I work at home and rarely buy any new clothes for myself!

After three days of seeing my cargo shorts, Thuy was kind enough to take me to Express Men today to look for new ones. I sent @laurabanfield this picture and a video to make sure she liked them before buying all of the colors they had!

Given I usually wear my shorts for as long as ten years before buying new ones, I am grateful for these beautiful new shorts today and I intend to wear them until they fall apart!

Next, Thuy recommended I get some new shoes as well given I also generally wear shoes until they nearly fall apart first with my last pair having worked over a thousand miles in a year. Last year I read Shoe Dog by the founder of Nike which inspires me to consistently buy Nike shoes!

While I picked out the very most colorful shoe, Thuy recommended I go for something more laid back which agrees with what @laurabanfield said last time we went to the shoe store. Given that the people around me see my clothes so much, I try to consider what they like now when deciding how to dress as long as the clothes are comfortable and practical for me to wear. We ended up choosing this for my next shoe which I will probably keep for six months or a year until I wear my current pair down to nothing.

As we walked around the mall, Thuy talked about how grateful she is for her godsister Lieu. Lieu and Thuy have a business together and are like family which for Thuy not knowing her biological family most of her life has made all the difference in the world.

Every time I visit my family in Michigan I wish they lived down the street from me instead of being hundreds of miles away. What I learn from this is to love everyone around me each day as if they are my family members and focus my attention on those that want it the most regardless of how close our DNA is. We are one human family first and the smaller units ideally help us appreciate that. I am very grateful for the love Thuy has with her godsister and for the chance to hear about it with Thuy today!

We worked up an appetite shopping and walking around which we satisfied at PF Chang's which was the last place I had a meal filled with meat and animal products before going mostly whole plant vegan with the largest portion of raw fruits and vegetables. To begin, I ordered the cauliflower appetizer and some vegetarian spring rolls which I forgot to get a picture of again until ...

For the main course, I had broccoli and tofu which was one of the most whole plant options I could find. Once again my stomach was bigger than my eyes and I ordered to much food which is one reason I generally avoid going out to eat.

At home I live a very comfortable life and I am thankful for traveling to help get me out of my comfort zone into new places and situations because this has given me a great opportunity to grow and do even better at home.

Our adventure this weekend has been like a roller coaster emotionally and mentally with considering everyone's feelings, respecting everyone's choices in whether to participate, and communicating these among all family members with honesty and compassion. To add just a little more fun to it, writing about this requires I think of every possible person who might read now and forever.

We were challenged today to experience our emotions, love everyone in our family, and give up our expectations of what anyone will do. We faced a lot of uncertainty about how to give the most today while asking the least. I cried, I laughed, I was afraid, I was grateful, I was patient, and I was loving. I remembered my love for a family member while in an argument. I made amends for how I behaved along with communicating my own hurt and setting boundaries for what behavior is not acceptable with me. Doing all of these together is a new skill for me because generally I would avoid one part or the whole thing completely. I find to have great relationships we need to fully participate especially when we are hurt and scared.

To Thuy and her husband Mike, thank you very much for the gift of this visit and opening your hearts to us. To everyone everywhere, I love you all and am grateful for the chance to experience the joy and lessons of this life together.

Love,
Jerry Banfield