A Sleuth of Detectives

I forgot to mention that Sun. evening there was $8,000 taken from Clary’s money drawer. This was not the first time money has been missing. This afternoon we had a sleuth of detectives + cops up here investigating + questioning people. They took them all down to jail tonite - our cook, tailor, + Wu. It seems everyone of them were in on it. Wusifu stole the money + Yangsifu was in on it. Tsayfu was promised hush money. Heard the men had all been beaten up pretty much but did confess the theft. A group of elders from the city came up and criticized us for sending them to jail. Have also unearthed a gambling ring - our orphanage teachers. The foreigners are being severely criticized by outsiders + our own people. - Annette, April 1942

As my own pregnancy clicks along, I went back to Annette’s diary to see what she was going through around this time when she was pregnant with my Dad. She was busy working on a baby blanket out of muslin - which, as it turns out, is still in fashion for modern baby blankets. Then, I came upon this story!

Annette was juggling so many things during her second pregnancy. She was taking care of her toddler, helping organize a conference, and making supplies for her new little one. On top of all that, she discovered that her workers had been stealing from them! She trusted her crew to help her keep house and cook for everyone. That must have felt so violating.

Lately, I’ve had a hard time focusing on my own jobs. I’ve always been good at juggling my performing, teaching, volunteering, and everything else. Sometimes, though, I feel like pregnancy has become a new part-time job. There is so much to prepare for, not to mention everything I need to do to stay healthy and take care of myself. But the world keeps moving. It’s always a balancing act, and I would imagine it will continue to be. Rather than constantly staying busy, I suppose we just need to enjoy the slower moments. Maybe we can all slow down a bit and take care of ourselves. You never know when you might uncover a secret gambling ring that sends your neighbors to jail!