True Expat

My father-in-law recently asked me, "Are you enjoying acting like a real expat?" I wondered, "What do you mean?" He responded, "Taking a break and leaving Taiwan during the summer." Most expats seem to take off as soon as school lets out and return just before it starts back up again. Ever since our last visit at Christmas, I was hoping we could come up with a way for us to make a summer visit too. I longed desperately for the exchange from the icky Taiwan summer to a dry and comfortable Utah one. Lucky for us, my dear SIL, Kensley, came up with a great reason for us. She is getting married at the end of the month! The perfect excuse for a visit.

To answer my FIL's question: ABSOLUTELY!! We've only been in Utah for a few days, but have done so many things it feels like at least a week. One of the first things I appreciated as I watched Jadyn play with her Aunt Becca in my parents' front yard: the wide open space available on a person's own property. I grew up in this house; my parents have almost been here for twenty years. And I absolutely (as I assume most Americans do) took for granted the space available when living in the States. A yard is such a wonderfully huge play area for children! It definitely hasn't gone unnoticed by Jadyn. She has spent many hours out in the yards of the g-parents.

Some of the other highlights of our first few days:

-Jade was an absolute wonder on the plane ride. I could not be happier with or more grateful for the way she behaved.

-Observing our families enjoying playing and interacting with Jadyn. This is definitely the thing that makes me most sad about living abroad, but brings me the most joy when visiting home. I love seeing how much our families love and adore the little girl that I love and adore so much. It makes my heart so incredibly happy.

-Witnessing the love Jade has for our families. I feel like she's hardly needed me since we landed. There is always someone more fun to play with or someone jumping in to take care of her. She is always asking for Grandma or Grandpa if they are not around or playing with an Auntie. One time she told my dad to change her diaper instead of mommy. Last night as I was singing to her before bedtime, she asked for Grandma instead. The fact that her love is reciprocal also makes me so happy.

-My grandma Lemon's birthday party. Her health is failing, so I'm glad she stuck around for me to see her at least one more time.

-Going to the Farmington Days parade with SIL, Winter, Jade's cute cousin, Paisley (they live in AZ, so I'm so happy their visit overlapped with ours), and of course, G-ma and G-pa. This was Jade's second American parade--her first was when she was two months old (just days before we moved to Hong Kong). She was very dutiful in picking up the candy and collecting it in a bag. It was so much fun to watch her get into it.



















-Participating in some of the wedding plans. I've felt so helpless and like I'm missing out while in Taiwan. It has been so fun to be here for some of the pre-wedding prep and I'm excited to help out a little more in the coming weeks.

-Meeting up at temple square with my Aunt and cousin I haven't seen since Charise's wedding. Jade was so excited to be running around with the girls, she forgot how jet-lagged and tired she was (actually that's how she has been since we got here: excitedly distracted from sleep).



-The weather! I can enjoy sitting outside for hours instead of dreading any outdoor time required. In fact, there are times when I have actually been a little chilly here, and I am so pleased about that.