And today's lesson is ..geography....

Why on earth am I posting pictures of China? And not just any picture..this is the Liaoning peninsula, showing the important port of Dalian, the gateway to the northeast of China, important for its trade and industry.

I have just been reading about it on the web, and it was like being back in a geography lesson (Dalian, pop 1.6 million, climate: moderate etc) where to be honest, I tried to be interested, but it never came alive for me, until I started travelling....

And why is Dalian so important to me this morning? Because, thanks to a text popping into my mobile phone, I know that is where James is this morning. It got me thinking..one of those moments of pure clarity that are hard to explain to anyone else because they are almost just a pure feeling, rather than thought, that pops into your head in a nano-second, and takes longer to explain...

I remember my child when he needed my help simply to cross a room. Then to cross a road. Then to get to school...when he could do these by himself he needed my help to go farther - into the town, up to London, etc: and even when he could go farther on his own, I was still needed: what train should he get? How long would it take to drive? What did I think he needed to pack? And so it goes on, being needed less and less, until, one day, a text reaches you saying, I am in Dalian, China....the other side of the road...and he has needed no help at all....there was a time, not so long ago, when any of us travelling anywhere in the world would trigger a little family get together, a farewell, bon voyage, come back safely kind of get together, a long hug, just in case....and James was always the main instigator of that get together. This time, he just went.

What a change. How life moves on. And with the wonders, and I mean wonders, of technology, as he texts me names of various cities around China, where he is visiting factories to see his designs into production...at the click of a mouse I can see where he is, learn about Dalian and its port, and factories and commerce..and know that he has just arrived (safely) and had egg fried rice and coffee for breakfast, in Beijing, before flying to Dalian, and now, after 14 hours travelling, he is going to lie down for a bit before dinner.

And, thanks to wireless technology and my laptop, I know all that and I haven't even left my bed yet....