ready, set, . . . FLY

We leave tomorrow. Normally, this brings out quite the emotional response in our children. Our first year, Josh had a major meltdown the week we left. Which is really out of character for him. Later I concluded that at 6 years old, he just couldn't deal with all of the emotions that he was feeling at the time. Another year, my girls were really weepy. But so far this year, . . . nothing.

Which seems very strange. I keep waiting for the drastic response. Now, before you all think me heartless, I am not just talking about tears. I am talking about extreme emotion, more than tears alone can express. Because I guarantee you that tomorrow as we leave Cincinnati, we will all be in tears (myself included). That is part of the healthy, grieving process and saying goodbye. Honestly, I would be worried if we didn't cry.

But part of me wonders, are my babies beginning to grow up and mature? Because each year as we approach this day, I check in with them. Just to see how they are each doing with the transition. This year they are each a bit sad, but also looking forward to going back to China. Looking forward to starting homeschooling. Sad to say goodbye. Excited to return. Hmm, maybe those emotions will erupt sometime in the next 24+ hours. 

But for now, I must go weigh my bags one last time. Homeschooling books weigh a ton!

reflections of summer

While we are not starting school until September, our time here in the US is coming to a close. Which for us means that summer is coming to a close. And this always brings about mixed reactions. We miss Andy and are ready to be united with him (we have been apart for 14 days, and have 9 more days until we see him). But will be sad to say goodbye to the friends and family here. It is hard to leave one home when you also want to return to another home.

I am amazed/amused each summer when I see our home country (or maybe for clarification, I should say, our passport country) through the eyes of our children. With each additional year we spend overseas, I see subtle ways where our kids are out of step with their peers here in America. [Just as an aside, this feeling of being out of step with their peers is not unique to our children. The term Third Culture Kids (or TCKs) describes this feeling that many children raised out of their passport country feel. Click here to read more about it.]

But even with our kids' cultural adjustment aside, there have been a few things that have stood out this summer. . .

Fascination with Commercials
We (Andy and I) are not big TV watchers. And when in China, we generally just watch movies or documentaries. And not even that many of those. For the last 2 weeks, Olympic fever has struck our house and our kids have loved watching. But since they really do not remember every seeing commercials, they are so intrigued by them. Maybe intrigued is not a strong enough word. They are entranced. They sing the jingles. They keep an eye out for each of the the stores. Then when we are driving around and they see one of the businesses that was featured on a commercial, they get really excited. They retell particularly funny ones (and not-so-funny ones). A side of watching the Olympics that I did not expect.

Road Trips
Our kids are used to traveling in many fashions: airplane, train, subway, and even boat. But for us it is rare that we take a driving trip that is longer that 2 hours. But this summer, we were all over the place! Ohio to Florida and back, Ohio to Michigan and Indiana. I was amazed by how much each of them just enjoyed watching out the windows, enjoying the scenery. T told anybody that would listen that she had taken a trip in a car that took 16 whole hours of driving, and that it was even longer that it took to get to China!

But each time we are back, I just want to soak up so much. The green, green grass. The amazing blue skies and white fluffy clouds. The relationships that go back so deep and remain strong. But with just over a week left, I am feeling the pull. Ready to go back home. To my home that is fast-paced, and teeming with people. To the crazy humidity, where my hair never looks that great. To the place that while it is and probably always will be a little strange and different, but at the same time grows more familiar daily. And this year, I am excited to go home and get organized to begin our homeschooling adventure.

why, oh, why?

Our countdown is getting into the single digits. Well, to be specific, we have 3 countdowns going on...

4-5-9 

(which stands for 4 days of school, 5 days until Japan, 9 days until the US)

But with teaching and closing up my classroom for the year, I am wondering why, oh why are we leaving the day after school is out. Yes, there were all kinds of good reasons. . . Wanted to be with family on the 4th (our nephew's b-day) . . .  Maximize time back in the States. But, yikes, will I get everything done?!

Suitcases are sitting out. With a bit of clothes in them. Our refrigerator is rather scary and needs to be cleaned out. And I think that I have all of my shopping done. Oh wait, just thought of something else to purchase as I type. But no matter what I get accomplished this week, Friday night we are driving to Shanghai, and Saturday morning early we are getting on a plane. Knowing me, I will not really start packing until Thursday (and honestly, if I forget anything, I will buy it in Japan or the US). But if there is one thing that living here has taught me, it is the fine art of packing a suitcase in 1 hour or less. While I have learned much while living here and have grown in many ways, however this one always stands out to me when we get ready to travel because I used to stress out about packing. Like a panicky, stress out. I always felt like if I forgot something, then the trip would just not go as well. Especially, when traveling with kids. Now that they are just a bit bigger, they pack their own carry-ons. And either I have gotten less uptight and less stressed about the whole packing thing, or I have gotten a lot better at it. Possibly, a little of both.

For the time being, I need to go bake something for one of the many parties happening this week.

remodeling

The house across from ours is being remodeled. Now, no matter where you live that is annoying. But here in China, the remodeling process takes on a whole new dimension. Because this is not just painting or putting in a new bathroom. Instead, it looks like this:

The entire house is being gutted. And this is fairly normal when renovating. Or as it is called in Chinese 装修 (pronounced: zhuang xiu). I am glad that I am working during the day and am hopeful that it will be finished by the time we return at the end of August. But I don't know, it looks to be a long way from being finished. So unfortunately, when we start homeschool in the fall we may have some background noise. I will just keep hoping that this moves at the normal speed of construction work here. . . really fast!

spelling debate

With just over a week of school remaining, my thoughts are turning towards the fall. The kids have all kinds of questions of how homeschooling will work. . .

how many days will we have school?

how long will our school day be?

will we do the same thing every day?

what will I do when you are working with __________ (a sibling)?

And while I have ideas of how things will work, I am sure that most of these questions will be answered over time as we figure out the details together. Since we live outside the US, we aren't required to have a certain number of educational days or don't have certain standards that need to be met (e.g. the kids won't be required to take any standardized tests). Of course we will have a "normal" amount of school days. Being me, I have researched the number of days/hours required by various states of homeschooling families. And yes, I will keep records even though I don't have to submit them to anyone. But one question that I have been debating. . . which spelling standard will we use? The kids have been using British spelling for all of their educational careers. But our curriculum is from the US and therefore will use American spelling. While this may seem like a small matter, I just like to think it all through before instead of in the midst of things. I am leaning towards using American spelling, but if there is an alternative spelling informing them of both. But I am inviting you to weigh in. Opinions?

The big cut

The girls have been talking about donating their hair once we got back to the States. However after swimming so much this last month, T's hair was decidedly green. And I was secretly wondering if they would even want it. So when she asked to get it cut, I agreed.

Tori was so excited she had a hard time sitting still.

And the result? Is mighty cute if you ask me.

This picture is blurry because I took it with my phone and my girl is constant movement.

Perfect for the hot summer. And I am glad not to battle the tangles each day!

summer bucket list

Summer is exciting. Time with the kids. Time to refresh. And for us, it is a time to be with our friends and family. (Not to mention all the little joys of being in our home country).

We are usually fairly purposeful about where we are and what we will be doing. Especially planning for the big things. But this list is more than just the big trips. It is all the things that we want to soak up and not take for granted while we are Stateside. So, in a stream-of-consciousness-kind-of-way here are my dreams for the summer.

1. Eat berries every day. Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. I am not going to look at the price tag. Because no matter what I will pay, it will be way cheaper than here. Not to mention some of those fruits are not available ever here.

2. Eat corn on the cob, often. Maybe not every day, but close. Because midwest corn is some of the best on the planet. In my humble opinion.

3. Walk barefoot in the grass. There are many reasons that this one is a must. We live in a city of 7 million and grass is hard to find, and when you do find it often you are not allowed to walk on it. And then I would never, ever go barefoot in China. Ever. I will let your imagination fill in the blanks on that one.

4. Eat ice cream at least 3 times a week. I can't seem to get away from food! But since ice cream is one of my favorite things, I have to indulge while I can.

5. Catch fireflies with the kids. Did you know that there are no fireflies in China? Or much of southeast Asia for that matter? Since I grew up with them every night in the summer, I kind of thought that they were everywhere. Huh. . . one of those childhood beliefs proven false.

6. Have at least one park playdate a week. This one is closely tied with #3. And a great need to connect with people I miss.

7. Try to see as much of the Olympics while simultaneously trying to see as little election coverage as possible. Hmm, not sure this one is possible. I have decided that while I firmly believe in being informed about the election and candidates, that the whole election process is a bit better from afar. And we return to O-H-I-O. This one is probably unattainable.

8. Have a date with Andy. And hopefully eat Indian food in Clifton (you Cincy folk know of where I speak). With grandma babysitting. What could be better?

9. Go for morning runs that look more like this

and less like my normal view. 

Do I really need to say anymore on that one? And while I won't get to run in the woods every time, even the neighborhoods with the big lawns and trees will be a great change.  


10. Go to the grocery store alone. This may seem like an odd one, but I love the grocery store. I enjoy grocery shopping more than shopping for clothes. Well, I should say that I love going to the grocery store in the US. So at least once while I am back I want to wander the aisles and just be able to enjoy grocery shopping again.

So what are your plans and hopes for the summer? I know they will look different than mine, but join me in being intentional about this precious time.

And just in case you were wondering. . . 16 days until we are Stateside. Summer fun, here we come!