Return to Crazy

I spent a lovely week in the states last week, playing photographer at a good friend's wedding. The week was beautifully relaxing. No children slept in my bed with me, waking me with kicks in the jaw. No one woke me at odd hours, or struggled with jet lag alongside me. I spent time with my parents and my brother, enjoyed a wonderful dinner with friends from church, and loved all of the time I got to spend with the bride.

The week served as a wonderful reminder that I do have a comfort zone, whether life is simple. And of the value of old friends - people who knew me before I had children, when I had a career, and have watched me progress and change throughout. People who I knew while they were still in skill, before they became parents. It was wonderful to catch up with friends, and watch them gracefully adapt to life's major changes.

Upon my return, life quickly stopped being simple. The DVD player still doesn't work, although the remote has been changed. Wireless is still a mess. And although we rarely find living cockroaches stalking our halls, we do still find a few dead bugs every day. It seems they are wandering in through the holes in the walls, and will continue to do so as they please. No one else seems very concerned about these holes. The chairs need to be replaced and the chairs need to be sealed. Always a new problem. Always another fight.

Life was relaxed in St. Louis; everything was bright and beautiful.
Life in Shanghai is never boring!