If you haven’t noticed already, I have been home in Florida for 6 months. Originally, we planned to move to China at the beginning of January.
Yes, I am moving back to Shanghai! But when exactly is a big mystery.
Right now Peter is in the midst of transitioning to a new position and they do not need him in Shanghai yet. This means that Peter has been intermittently working from home in Florida since Halloween! For the last two months we have been taking full advantage of our time here together, you know, getting engaged and all that jazz. It has been a beautiful transitional period and a most welcome break from our crazy expat life. This is like the hometown dating period we never had. When we first started dating 3 years ago (yikes!), we spent 3 lovely days together before Peter moved to China.
So romantic.
Now we are a seasoned long-distance couple, engaged to be married in 14 months or so. We have lived in three countries and visited six. As perpetual expats, our life is extremely unpredictable, transitory and daunting. Most of the time I have no idea where I will be living each month and I am ready to pack my belongings and move across the world at the drop of a hat. It’s a pretty crazy lifestyle but for now it works. Right now we are focusing more on the little beautiful moments and focusing less on the big and scary changes in our life. Change is good and I am open and accepting to what may come.
Yesterday I drove Peter to the airport at 6am. He will be in Shanghai for 3 weeks on a business trip and will begin looking for apartments. Once he returns to Florida at the end of January, we will hopefully have a moving date in mind. I can probably expect to move back to China in February.
But until I know for sure, I will be relaxing at home, enjoying the sunshine and fresh air, working a lot, planning my wedding and hanging out with family.
Life is good.
Here are some scenes from the first few weeks of January:
Stand Up Paddleboarding with Peter. Beyond a few freak days with freezing temps, the weather has been beautiful and sunny with a average of 70 degrees. However, the water is cold!
Soaking up some sun in the backyard this weekend. Winter what?
Gettin’ work done at the office. Bathroom selfie optional.
This bird refused to get too close to me and took off in a huff.
My current jewelry faves (besides my engagement ring!) include a thread bracelet from Peru (thanks Taylor) and a gold cross.
I love our new paddleboard! Yesterday I went for a long ride before yoga and it felt amazing.
As you can see, winter in Florida is ridiculous. I dread arriving in Shanghai in the dead of winter with freeing rain and murky air.
This is going to be a fun year!
