Mother's Day

HOLIDAYS WITHOUT FAMILY

George Burns once said, “Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.” But I say holidays SUCK when they can’t be shared with loved ones. We have three terrific growns (pictured) and today I miss them more than ever. Traditionally for Mother’s Day the kids manage to find their way back to the nest. They cook, present me with silly cards and wonderful gifts, and they indulge me by playing Scrabble or other board games. I just realized I didn’t pack my Scrabble game…

At any rate, I'm making the best of the day by chillaxin'. As I blog my husband has ventured via taxi to the nearest KFC. Today I’m in the mood to dine on something familiar – it’s much more of an emotional need than a real craving for the greasy fried stuff. I’ve requested sauce-less spicy wings. My husband tried in vain to place an online delivery order, but we *think* the error message read we had an invalid address or we were beyond the home delivery area (the message was in Mandarin). YES, folks – KFC and McDonalds DELIVER in Shanghai for a mere $1US service charge (and no tipping). Home delivery service is a huge business here - anything you can imagine can and will be delivered to your door for a very nominal fee.

Back to the holiday and family topic. Before this weekend we were planning a trip home this fall, but having assessed the holiday situation and the kids’ schedules we will be waiting to make a family trip back to the states at Christmas. Expat life is a privileged adventure and something my husband and I enjoy very much, but absolutely nothing is more important than our family; children, parents, siblings and dear friends.