It has been a while since my last post ... almost three months to be specific. A lot has happened in these four months here in China. I moved to Shanghai, moved to Ningbo, flew back to the states to see my son graduate from college and then opened the first new DE center in this "satellite" market of Ningbo.
The lack of posting is more reflective of lack of voice as opposed to lack of time. I had many hours in airports, train stations and bus stations where I could have penned a sentence or two. But...I chose not to for the specific reason that so much was happening I couldn't even imagine where to start. The adventure of China quickly turned on it's heels to become the survival of China. I expected this to happen. I expected to become silent because so much was going on that I was on information and experience overload. Today that changed for me.
I described the day to my husband as the first time I ever felt like I was "normal" since arriving in China to be greeted by the frozen tundra of Beijing in early February. I have located several hundred miles south since arriving and the seasons have changed. But...this is not the real difference. Today was the first day I actually heard a thunderstorm here in this coastal town of Ningbo where it rains quite often. "So what" you might say. What is the value of the storm? Simple - memories and familiarity.
The storm reminds me of the rains on the metal roof at the "McMullin farm"; and of times when the kids were younger and my boys and I would make a day of indoor games because it was too wet to go out. It also represents the simplicity of life and hushes all of the car horns and street noise so I can just think in peace. I know...dangerous to realize I am a thinker - huh?
So tomorrow when I leave my apartment to take my first walk of the day in all of the mud and muck washed around by the storm, I will be oddly content. I will happily wear my rain boots and have a little smile on my face. I will take my daily stroll to work feeling like the storm actually washed away the distance between here and home. The distance that had turned this adventure into survival. Yup - really glad the storm finally came.
