Nostalgic Christmas Reunion

Whenever I go home and I'm back at church, most things seem to be the same as when I left. The combination of a small, country, Baptist church makes change a slow process. Usually I can step back in and it almost feels that the year absense never existed. It's when I look at the kids in church that it hits me how long I've been gone. A year in the life of a 2 year-old or even a 10 year-old makes a big difference. I go home and a boy that I watched take his first steps is now taller than me.

The Friday before Christmas, Katie and I invited some friends over from Yichang Foreign Language School (the middle school we both taught at for two years before coming to the university). Four of our friends and former colleagues came over and they all brought their kids. I looked at those kids and thought, "Wow! I've been in China for a long time!" When I first met Swallow (like the bird) her daughter was a shy two year old. Emma's six now. Carol's daughter was a baby. Netty found out she was pregnant the second year we were at YFLS and Katie and I went to her house when her baby was 100 days old (a Chinese baby milestone). Now Fan-fan is three years old! When we first arrived at YFLS, Lily had only been dating Bingo for a short time and they were still nervous and shy around each other (Oh, Bingo's Chinese family name is Bing so Lily named him Bingo . . . "like the song, B-I-N-G-O." . . . that's what she told us). We all attended Lily's wedding and now she has a son that's over a year old.

Wow. The years here have gone by fast . . .

We all had a wonderful time together and had fun getting to catch up and exchanging gifts. Despite living in the same city, we don't see these friends very often. Oh, I was also reminded how un-baby-proof my apartment is.