Last December, after finding out that we were most likely moving to China in 2010, I visited my favorite store in Albany called Emma Downtown. I purchased a few Christmas gifts at Emma’s, but I also purchased a necklace for myself that says, “don’t look back” on one side and “choose joy”. That saying has been my anthem since we moved to China. I do not always follow the idea, but I wear the necklace as a reminder to live in the present, not in the past or even in the future.
Last week I spent a little too much time thinking about home, worrying about the future and not enough time appreciating Shanghai. This week, I am reminiscing about the great summer we had last year, but beginning to find joy in the adventures we will have here in Shanghai during the summertime.
Last summer was filled with daily walks to the park, concerts in the park, two trips to Oregon, a trip to Tahoe and tons of outdoor living. This year I am trying to accept that we cannot do many of the things we did last year, but instead I want to embrace the exciting things we get to do here. Next weekend we are traveling to Korea to reset our visas and to see Jim’s best friend Ouk, whom Jim has known since his first day of Kindergarten.
That was then... Jameson's 1st birthday invitation photo
Parktime with Daddy and Jameson with his "cruising legs"
Our trip to Vertical Horizons in Oregon where we "camped" in treehouses last June
Grandma time in our treehouse
Jameson with his sweet little cankles!
Our poor little guy had a fever while I drove the 8-hour trip to Oregon
Everyone except Myra (who kindly looked after Jameson) went on the zip-lines!
We are definitely going back to the treehouses someday!
We had a great trip to Tahoe thanks to our neighbors Carl and Keala!
This is now...
Last week I spent a little too much time thinking about home, worrying about the future and not enough time appreciating Shanghai. This week, I am reminiscing about the great summer we had last year, but beginning to find joy in the adventures we will have here in Shanghai during the summertime.
Last summer was filled with daily walks to the park, concerts in the park, two trips to Oregon, a trip to Tahoe and tons of outdoor living. This year I am trying to accept that we cannot do many of the things we did last year, but instead I want to embrace the exciting things we get to do here. Next weekend we are traveling to Korea to reset our visas and to see Jim’s best friend Ouk, whom Jim has known since his first day of Kindergarten.
That was then... Jameson's 1st birthday invitation photo
Parktime with Daddy and Jameson with his "cruising legs"
Our trip to Vertical Horizons in Oregon where we "camped" in treehouses last June
Grandma time in our treehouse
Jameson with his sweet little cankles!
Our poor little guy had a fever while I drove the 8-hour trip to Oregon
Everyone except Myra (who kindly looked after Jameson) went on the zip-lines!
We are definitely going back to the treehouses someday!
We had a great trip to Tahoe thanks to our neighbors Carl and Keala!
This is now...
Joy is a daily choice wherever you live. It is so easy to focus on what we do not have rather than what we do have. Now that we have lived in China for a mere three months, I know that we have soooo much more than we need. I choose joy because the creator of the universe loves us all unconditionally and we are free to share that love and joy with others.