Rewinding the Clock


With our kids finally a little grown up (i.e. no diaper bag necessary) we felt it was finally time to take a little trip inside of China.  Now that everyone can carry their own backpack and pull their own suitcase traveling in China’s most tourism heavy holiday seemed like a possibility.  So we hopped on a train with the Thorpe crew and headed off to explore Suzhou and Hangzhou, two famously beautiful cities outside of Shanghai and most importantly to re-connect with the Doyle family who left us to move south 2 years ago. 

Rewind 4 years ago and I was fresh “off the boat” from the states.  Shell shocked and bewildered with a 5 month old and 2 year old hanging on each side of me, I arrived into Qingdao not knowing what to expect.  Still wondering where I fit into this strange new world, I happened upon two lovely ladies at a community BBQ;  Carrie with her 6 month old Mac in arms, and Jill with 1 year old little Zoe toddling close behind.  As it would happen, they were both fresh to town just like me and providentially lived in my neighborhood of town.  Our husbands were all busy teaching during the day, leaving us home to care for our little brood of sweet babies.  And so a bond of friendship was quickly formed as we attempted to explore our new world with diaper bags and strollers in hand. 


With 3 bald babies and a toddler in tow, we learned where to buy groceries, where to find precious Western food, and where to find a semi-responsible doctor.  Through play groups, music clubs, sick kids, and moments lost in translation we cried and laughed our way through that first year.  Carrie, ever the adventurer, was always talking us into some new excursion.  Jill and I would laugh and then usually always say yes.  And so the diaper bag would get packed, the kids bundled up, and out into the whipping wind we would go to find a taxi.  Those crazy adventures kept me sane that first year.  Left to myself I’m sure I would have spent far too much time indoors, afraid to explore alone, and consequently have been a bit depressed during the long first winter.  Instead my memories of that first year and our mommy/toddler adventures make me smile.   So the chance to spend a day in Jill’s living room now with all 6 kids playing happily at our feet was like rewinding the clock and getting to enjoy a day long past.  What a gift.  

I made many other equally precious friends during those first two years in Qingdao.  Each one is special to me in their own way, for different reasons.  So many of them have now scattered around the globe and I rarely get to see them.  God has blessed me abundantly with deep friendships on both sides of the world.  But the chance to reconnect with these two ladies after 2 years apart and watch our kids all play happily together like no time had ever passed brought back sweet memories and made me thankful for the gift of their friendship.     

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