It's Good

Have I mentioned that I love where we live now?

I most definitely miss the wonderful river view from our 48th floor apartment. I miss the boats, the city lights at night, the feeling of being in the heart of real Shanghai. It was really cool to experience city life for a year.

But as Caleb said last spring when we were contemplating moving, "We've done the apartment thing, now we can do something else." And we are. It is so very different, in some really great ways.

I love being so close to school that the boys can run back over later in the evening if they forgot something there.

I love seeing people I know from church when I'm at Carrefour.

I love having friends for my kids a quick bike ride away.

I love having neighbors knock at the door.

I love walking to church, and walking to dinner with friends after church.

I love riding our bikes places... to ballet, to Starbucks, to gymnastics, to the store for a few groceries, to the pool, to friends' houses.

I love walking over to the school library with the girls.

I love sitting out on our little deck with Madelyn to do schoolwork, and to eat lunch.

I love having friends' kids come hang out at my house while they're waiting for their ride, because we're so close to school.

I don't love water dripping out of lights in the bathroom, or the AC being broken for days and days, or the washing machine breaking repeatedly, or the phone acting up all the time. But those things are worth it somehow, for the community we feel in Jinqiao. It feels like we belong, like we're part of something bigger. Somehow in our apartment, as much as it felt homey to be there, we were isolated.

So I'm glad to live here, in this place and time, and for these moments.