After all my big talk a couple months back about staying in Shanghai over the summer—which technically we still did—I managed to sneak out of town with the kids for a two week visit home. We have new babies in our family, so I felt an extra strong pull home so my kids could meet their new baby cousins.

The home visit has been great, but it’s a bittersweet experience to be sure. We are here for such a short time that it’s really a visit. Our house smells musty from lack of use. There are noticeable signs of wear and tear that I am trying hard to ignore and not deal with for now. Having survived without a car for a year in Shanghai, I am back in the car having mode, and of course with that comes huge expense. Our car sat in our garage and was driven a bit, but I came home to a dead battery, a flat tire and breaks that gave out as I was driving the kids around town. Not so much fun. $500 (USD not RMB) later, our car is running well enough to survive our last five days in the US.

I am remembering this time last year, we had just arrived in Shanghai, were getting ready to start school at SCIS and just trying to figure out how to buy produce at Carrefour. This time around, having a year of experience behind us, the trip back to Shanghai is less daunting, but the goodbyes here at home feel extra hard.

In between visits with family and friends and many hearty American meals, we are getting in doctor and dentist visits. I even squeezed in an eye exam (and yes, I tried the Shanghai glasses market but it didn’t work out well for me). Additionally, I am doing that major stock up shopping: prescription medicines that are expensive or unavailable in China, shoes for everyone but mainly for me and my larger than the average Chinese woman’s feet, clothes, and of course we’re loading up our remaining luggage allowance with the foods we long for and refuse to buy at their marked up prices in Shanghai. My husband has been sending requests almost daily for his wish list from home—particular brands of this and that along with his favorite coffee and cereal. Most of it is not necessary, but it will help make the transition back to life in China a bit easier.

I heard there’s a typhoon blowing through Shanghai. Hopefully, we will return after the storms end and we can have a drama free start to our second year in China. Just in case, my shoe purchases included some snazzy new rain boots. I am looking forward to more adventures.