Homeward Bound

It's been over a year since we moved to China. A year of funny, crazy, sometimes maddening China. A year that seemed to take forever has passed in the blink of an eye.I feel like I have my head above water. I enjoy my life. I have a routine, I can communicate the necessary things I need to and we have friends. In June we were asked to extend another full year. I was ecstatic, the kids were happy and settled. The next year was certain.
In August Mr. Kungfuyankee got a new boss and leadership and boom just like that we are coming home in January 2017. My life that was certain and settled was turned upside down once again.
People have asked how I feel about coming home, and I describe it as going through the stages of grief.
First stage: denial: when Mr. Kungfuyankee said his boss wanted to talk to him and it was bad news, I thought no way we are going home, they are just rescinding the Taiwan offer. When we were told we were going home, it was shocking and I just couldn't believe it. We had signed paperwork extending another year. There was no way they could send us home (the joke was on me).
Second Stage: anger!  Oh how I was angry. We had just renewed the contract on our rental house and the company's attitude is too bad, there is no compensation to pay us back for breaking the contract. I was angry that we were being uprooted early. We were finally settled. My kids are finally in a great school. We have friends.  I am angry that we won't be able to travel. We can afford to travel in China and when we get home our trips will be going to visit family, (which is great, but I have enjoyed visiting new places).  Honestly I was so angry and bitter toward the new bosses, the company, the situation. It just didn't seem fair.
I skipped the third stage which is depression. I started to list all of the food I wanted to eat and things I could do such as going to the park, getting to the grocery store in five minutes, communicating with someone if I needed help, this list could go on and on. Really there are a lot of benefits to being in America!
The fourth stage was bargaining. I thought maybe there will be a hail Mary play and they will change their mind. This was just a fleeting thought as it was pretty evident it was a done deal.
The final stage is acceptance and I feel that I have gotten there. A few weeks ago I realized that I was mad about the opportunities I was going to miss out on by returning home. I realized I needed to be grateful for the opportunities I was given. I am grateful we have gotten to move to China. I am grateful I was pushed into learning a new language. I am grateful for my friends. I am grateful my kids have learned to be outgoing and to make friends with people from other cultures and backgrounds.  I am grateful for the opportunities I have had to travel. I am grateful for the things I have learned.  Since becoming grateful I have lost my wrong held anger and sense of entitlement and unfairness.
The final few months in China are going to fly by and I am going to do my best to be grateful for the opportunities I have been given and enjoy my time here to the fullest.