Outlook

I recently had a discussion with my sister about us eventually having to leave Shanghai. She once mentioned to me, several months before, that by the time we leave, there will be many things I might miss about living here. And several months ago, I had told her she was right...I would miss Coffee Bean (since they STILL don't have one back in our home town). She had wisely let the subject drop at the time. Obviously, I had been in a bitter head space at the time and the ONLY thing I could see me missing was a Coffee Bean...which I still admit that I will miss - greatly.

However, IN ADDITION to Coffee Bean, I am now able to recognize SEVERAL things I will miss when we leave. Having turned a new leaf at our six month mark, I have been actively trying to state the positive things about living here, in my blogs. And interestingly enough, since doing so, I have lost some readers. Human nature, I guess...go figure!

So, having had this recent discussion again with my sister, I can guarantee you that YES, the benefits of moving here have finally exceeded the negatives. While those "negatives" still exist and never completely go away, being able to recognize the positives is half the battle to benefiting from them. And, let me tell you, we all have to ACTIVELY participate in recognizing and acknowledging those positives, all the time. It's not a natural and often times...EASY thing to do while living here.

If I had to leave tomorrow, I would walk away happy that we did something like this. I couldn't have said that a few months ago. Life is going well right now. I'm looking forward to this next year in Shanghai, for many different reasons. ONE, the excitement of 'going home' or at least making the decision to, gets closer and closer. TWO, I have much more ability to sit back, relax, look around, and have some fun. THREE, I'm looking forward to meeting and developing new and different friendships as well as developing the ones I already have. FOUR, being more relaxed, opens up SO many more doors and I'm interested to see which ones I walk through. And that is just to name a few...

SINCE being here, I have already developed parts of me I never knew existed. I'm nurturing some new found talents and I'm excited to see where they lead me. I'm growing leaps and bounds as a person and gaining insight and depth to SO much more than I ever imagined possible. I've said this before, but I absolutely LOVE meeting and talking with so many international women, and especially moms. I've learned some Chinese...not a lot...but some, and THAT is pretty incredible - for me. And that is just to name a few...

This year, I hope to shop a little and pick up some fabulous items found here in China, some that are unique to China and others, not so much. I'm looking forward to stocking up on some luxurious Chinese silk, pearls, scarves and other "girly" stuff. These are the kinds of things I'm sure I'll miss when I go back. I love that all this kind of stuff is available here - and cheap. When I return home, I'll miss the 'availability' to this type of product. We might look around for a couple of interesting pieces of furniture...or not. They have very interesting stuff here, but a little pricey. So, who knows!

The point is that, this year, I will be living here with eyes wide open, with the ability to see so much more than before. I like that feeling...