We're home, after a very long day. We woke up at 7 am Shanghai time, had breakfast, did a little bit of last minute shopping and apartment business, and then headed for the airport. We left at 6 pm on Monday, and arrived in Chicago at 4 pm Monday. So, actually and literally the longest day of my life. We're now in apartment limbo -- HR should be signing our lease any time now, if they haven't already, and we'll find out in January if our landlord has held up his end of the deal.
It's great to be home -- the kids did so well with G and Grandpa and were almost as happy to see us this morning as we were to see them. Betsy seems to have grown so much, John has had substantial improvement in the potty department, and both are still sweet as can be.
We had a great surprise when we got off the plane -- an offer on our house in Austin! We've accepted and are now in the option period, so if all goes well, we'll close on the 17th and drive to Houston, then fly to Florida, then Minnesota, then Shanghai. If you're doing the math at thome, you'll see that plan gives us 16 days between arriving in Austin on Nov 30th and leaving Austin on the 17th, homeless and with all our worldly possesions in a shipping crate, in storage, or in our hands. Just typing that makes me want to throw up a little.
But in the meantime, we are home, surrounded by family and all the things we'll know we'll miss while we're in China -- like clear blue skies, fresh air, sidewalks, Chick Fil A, cable tv, Target, the English language...
Before we left, everyone asked us if we were nervous, and what it was going to be like. I can say now that I'm not really nervous (except for the 16 days part) and that I'm really excited. I can't wait to experience city life as a family, to learn the language, to make friends with our neighbors there, and to just enjoy the experience. We're sure that there will be many moments where we huddle in the Pizza Hut and cry about wanting to go home. But if we just stick to our general rule for low expectations, everything is going to be just fine. ;-)
2 comments:
Welcome back! So very glad to here that everything is falling into place. So happy to get some time with y'all before you're off!
Wow! I just read up on all your adventures. The apartment pictures look very nice. But I still don't understand what you use to cook if there is no oven?
We did the same thing last year (being homeless; living out of our suitcases for a little over a month). It wasn't awesome, especially b/c it was over Christmas, but it wasn't too bad, either. The hardest part was sorting everything: Storage, sea shipment, air shipment or suitcase? And doing all the valuations and inventories.
I'm so excited for you and your adventures! Can't wait to read more.
Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy it!
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