There were also premiere galas in Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide. Li went from one interview to the next. He was constantly away during this time. In Brisbane, it was special to finally be able to share the movie with my family. Of course, they all loved it. I was pretty exhausted at that point and didn’t know how Li was even standing upright.
As if the movie release wasn’t enough excitement, Sophie was still on the up and up academically. Before the year was out, we learned that she had been awarded a Graeme Clark Scholarship. The scholarship had been set up to financially support implant recipients who achieved high academic results, and to nurture those with a demonstrated commitment to the ideals of leadership and humanity. We were very proud of Sophie and beyond grateful to Graeme Clark for his invention. He was the reason that our daughter was able to flourish and live her own life, even though the journey hadn’t been easy.
Sophie also decided to study Spanish. We couldn’t believe it – English, Chinese and now Spanish. When she spoke at a Bionics Institute event that year, she put her goals eloquently. ‘By mastering the three major languages, I hope to have access to communication on a global scale,’ she said. ‘I believe that communication is essential to making positive contributions to mankind.’
My God! Now my daughter was not only able to have conversations with me, she wanted to communicate with the whole world!
The next two years sped by. Tom completed secondary school and also decided to go to Melbourne University, to undertake a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Chinese and Spanish. He took up residence at Trinity College and began to truly blossom. He auditioned and was accepted into Trinity’s chapel choir, singing several nights a week and every Sunday at church. Tom has a beautiful voice. He later joined a young male vocal group called the Trinity Tiger Tones, who became quite popular around Melbourne singing at weddings and other functions, even performing on TV on Australia’s Got Talent and making it to the semifinals. He won Trinity’s Arts prize for his contributions and was keen to take advantage of everything else the college had to offer. Our son was growing into a very fine young man – respectful and loving, and completely independent.
Bridie, our social butterfly, had settled in well to secondary school at Melbourne Girls Grammar, and Sophie was pushing on at uni as best she could. I was still teaching at the Australian Ballet. I visited Coralie in Brisbane more often now that she was getting older and a little frailer, as well as my brother Matt, who had been unwell.
When Li was away travelling, Coralie would often come and stay with us in Melbourne. We’d go to lunch or visit the wool shop in Albert Park so she could knit scarves for the grandchildren. Coralie was always great company. Li and I had both lost our fathers and Niang was ill, so I just wanted to be with Mum whenever I could.
Since moving to our new home the McKendry clan would descend on Melbourne to spend Christmas with us. We now had the space to entertain. It was heartwarming to have our home full of family and friends, and the house was perfect for this. Li would take everyone to a restaurant in Melbourne’s Chinatown on Christmas Eve, and then on Christmas Day he and Coralie took over the kitchen, roasting the turkey and ham. These festive holidays became unforgettable for all of us – although one time I forgot to lock in one of the legs of the foldable table, and as our niece Lucy placed the last dish, the table buckled at one end and the entire Christmas lunch slid onto the floor! I had never seen Li so mad, he simply returned to the kitchen until we had managed to salvage most of the food. Coralie just poured herself another glass of Scotch.
Lulu and her husband, Yannick, now had a baby girl, Yanelle. Rong Rong had moved out in mid-2010 after she started uni, but often came to visit as well. Life – especially when Li was away, which was often – was pretty quiet compared to when the children were all at home and there were seven for dinner.
Sophie was keen to travel overseas and decided to join a Contiki tour. To celebrate her twenty-first birthday in July, I was to meet her in Paris. I asked Ginya if she would join us and she agreed. Soon we were in Paris on Bastille Day, sitting in the gorgeous Cristal Room restaurant with its stunning old-world baroque-style decor, looking out at the Eiffel Tower bathed in its special light show. It was a truly memorable time together. After Paris, we went on to London. We visited the Victoria and Albert Museum, where Sophie began explaining the architectural characteristics of ancient cultures she’d been studying at uni. Who would have thought that my daughter would be teaching me more about the world!
Back home, though, she was coming to terms with the fact that studying was not going to fundamentally change her situation. Her ongoing struggles with university study were compounding and her frustration was showing no signs of abating. One day in her second year she came home sobbing: the architecture professor was no longer providing her with notes before each lecture.
‘He doesn’t think I need them, Mum. I can’t believe it!’ she said.
‘Maybe you should switch unis, Sophie,’ I suggested, not knowing what the answer was. ‘Melbourne Uni is so big.’ She was getting lost, despite her effort, I thought.
Fighting for my daughter was as natural to me as breathing, but I wondered sometimes if it would ever end. Failure would be devastating for her. She’d never failed at anything she’d really put her mind to. I knew if she just had the information she needed, she’d be fine.
I called my friend Louise Paatsch to discuss the situation. ‘Mary, you’ve always been Sophie’s champion and you won’t stop now,’ she said. ‘Transition to high school, transition to uni – it’s always going to be difficult for Sophie, because she has to explain her situation to everyone, and not everyone will understand her needs.’
‘Her lecturer won’t give her the notes ahead of time and she’s convinced she’s going to fail,’ I said. ‘Louise, would you consider going with Li to see the lecturer to explain just how challenging it is for her? You’re a language professor and he’ll take it better from you, rather than me as her interfering mother.’
‘Sure, Mary. I can do that,’ Louise said, without a moment’s hesitation.
We never told Sophie that we were stepping in on her behalf – she wanted to fight her own battles. The professor reluctantly agreed to do better with providing her his notes, but he didn’t end up delivering on that promise. Ultimately, Sophie decided to swap her major to property for her third year. It was a relief for us all, and we hoped her final year would go more smoothly in every respect. Property seemed a sensible choice, too, as there might be more chances of employment for a hearing-impaired person in that field. She also decided to move back home. She’d had enough of college.
Sophie was delighted to graduate at the end of 2011 with a Bachelor of Environments and could not wait to find work after the Christmas holidays. We went to Coolangatta, where Ger’s and Brig’s families joined us. It was a joy to see the children bodysurfing with Li in the sea or swimming all day in the pool. Dinner was often together at one of the apartments, then all the children would gather to play some very competitive card games. Mum stayed with us for a few days. Sitting back with a Scotch, she’d listen to the noisy conversations bouncing around the room and smile gently at seeing us together.