It's been such a long time since I left Shanghai - almost 3 months - it feels somewhat surreal to be getting ready to head back on February 17. I have totally enjoyed being "home" in Elmhurst and living in this beautiful house we have here again, before someone eventually buys it.
It was great to have Chris and all of our daughters together for the holidays - first for Christmas in Watkins Glen and then a whirlwind trip to Elizabeth's apartment in Brooklyn, to visit our dear friends Paul & Karen Craig in Weymouth, MA, and then to Cape Cod for the Deane family Christmas gathering at the home of Chris's brother Ken and his wife Laurel. The drive back from our hotel in Framingham, MA to Elmhurst made for one incredibly long and painful day, even with 5 drivers and the Divergent books on CD, but we were back home to celebrate New Year's Eve with our Elmhurst friends and still had a few days together at home before Chris headed back to China and Beth back to work.
However, once Samantha and Miranda returned to school for the new semester, it became very quiet for me home alone. Fortunately, Chris returned from China just a little over two weeks later, coming back here to avoid Chinese New Year in Shanghai and spend a couple of weeks in the U.S. Now we're getting ready to return, but we are first taking a little side trip away from the cold and snow of Chicagoland.
Chris has a business meeting and dinner in Fort Lauderdale, Florida tomorrow, so we decided to take advantage of the opportunity for a short vacation. I'm going to go with him for his business dinner in Fort Lauderdale tomorrow and then we'll visit the Everglades National Park and Shark Alley on Thursday, staying in Miami on Thursday night. Samantha's weekend freed up when she learned she wasn't riding in this weekend's horse show (she's on the Emory Equestrian Team), so she's going to fly down on Thursday evening and join us. Friday morning, we'll head down the Keys to explore, read, relax, and enjoy an area of this country we've never visited before.
After the whole "polar vortex" aspect of this winter in Elmhurst, I'm really looking forward to a break from the snow and also to being able to wear shorts and walk on the beach for a while - plus, I'm hoping to take some great pictures. Once we drop Samantha off at the airport on Sunday for her return to Atlanta, we're going to get together with Bill & Marion Bailey, our neighbors when we stay at our family cottages on Seneca Lake near Watkins Glen, NY. So, all-in-all, it should be a wonderful trip.
I have followed the adventures of my friends and family back in Shanghai, loving the fact that Facebook allows me to see some of their photos and hear about what's happening with them there. I am looking forward to getting back to our nice little apartment in JinQiao and dropping back into my life there. And, of course, enjoying the warmer weather back in Shanghai as well. Fortunately, I missed the worse of the air quality issues (I hope).
Chris will be traveling extensively during the next three months that I'm in Shanghai, but the good news is all of the visitors we're expecting. My sister Kate and brother-in-law David are coming in March to visit Peter, Nickle & the kids, but I'll get to tag along on some of their adventures while they are in town. At the end of March, our youngest daughter Miranda is coming to visit during her spring break. We're planning to spend a few days in Kuala Lumpur at the beginning of her visit and then coming back to Shanghai to show her around the town. And, in April, our oldest daughter, Elizabeth, is coming to visit over Easter and her 24th birthday. We are planning to go to Xi'An to see the terracotta warriors while she's visiting. Peter and Nickle may have some more visitors this spring, so I'll probably tag along for some of their fun. Also, by the time Elizabeth leaves in late April, I'll be getting ready to pack up and head back to the U.S. for summer. Whether I return to Elmhurst, if our house has not yet sold, or to a new home in the Watkins Glen area, it will be great to back here to see friends and family in the U.S. again.
I really have the best of both worlds, being able to spend time with friends and family in both the U.S. and China, alternating throughout the year. I've decided to change my job title from homemaker to world traveler - it sounds so much more interesting and more accurately reflects what I spend my time doing these days. I know my mother would be proud. :)
