Wow... I can't believe that two weeks have already come and gone. My mom and I were planning our trip for sooooo long and I was going crazy with anticipation (as was she). It seems like just yesterday, I was rushing out of work, headed in a taxi for the airport with my handmade glittery sign that read, "Ni Hao Momma!" with a special addition happy face brought to you by Mr. James. In reality, yesterday I was dragging my mom's overloaded suitcases into work with me so that she could spend her last morning with me and my kiddos at school. Although the mold and pollen at my school nearly killed her, I was happy that she was able to meet my kids :]
I am not going to lie, it was kind of strange having her here... like I said before, it seems as though this is a part of my life that my past life doesn't belong in. That probably sounds terrible, I am sure, but I don't mean it in a negative way. Of course, I welcome the intrusion, but it just seems odd having my two worlds collide and having my mom on the other side of the world with me, even for a brief period of time.
We packed in as much as we possibly could, and I am glad that we hit the ground running right from the start because by the time we got back to Shanghai following our Beijing excursion, my mom was achy, tired and sick with allergies - the walking, hiking, climbing, air quality, dust, mold and all had finally caught up to her and she was rather miserable after our flight back from Beijing. That last weekend, we didn't do a whole lot. I took her to the ERA show that I love, and even though we were nearly a half-hour late (who knew it would take my mother 30 minutes to walk a couple blocks), my mom still really enjoyed it. We ate at one of my favorite local Muslim Chinese noodle joints down the streets. It is dirty, but it is cheap, the people are super friendly and you get to watch them make their famous hand-made noodles right next to the table! My mom was pretty much on a perma-high from all the delish food we were eating. Every time we tried something new she would confess how it was one of her favorite things that she had eaten - literally, every time! We cooked some amazing meals at home for Easter Sunday and enjoyed the day with my roomies (the first holiday I have celebrated with family since Christmas 2010). We did some last minute shopping and made our return to the fabric market to pick up our stuff.
Yesterday, it was nearly impossible for me to take the afternoon off work to escort my mom to the airport to catch her flight by 4:00 (the airport being nearly 2 hours away from my work), but my mom assured me that she was fine to navigate the metro system all by herself with two roller suitcases, a backpack and not a clue! Luckily she made it ok, and soon she was off, and I am happy to report that she has landed safely back where she belongs, and I am happy to have my bed back to myself.
Can't wait to be home in three months to see the rest of my loved ones.... departure date is set - JULY 3rd... look out Mitten, here I come!
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