The End

Today was my first day back. I spent it reconnecting with my family and soaking up my home.

My son and husband cleaned the entire house before I got home, gave me flowers and chocolates and even cooked for me. I really am blessed to have two such wonderful guys in my life.

I ran about 4 miles this evening to the Mama Mia soundtrack (I should be sick of it by now but I'm not. I blame my friend Samantha who first hooked me on that movie). I could mouth the words while I pounded the pavement and no one thought I looked the least bit strange. Or at least they didn't stare at me from their cars as they zipped past on the busier roads with no sidewalks. After all, I'm just one of 270 or so million Americans here.

Most of the time, though, there were no cars or any people to see me at all. The gold, orange and red leaves are half on the ground and half in the trees. I filled my lungs with the smell of pine needles and that damp odor of fall in the Northwest.

Near my house is a long road with a horse pasture on one side and blackberry bushes on the other (My son and I had a blast picking those berries last September. He ate more than he put in his bucket).

I stopped there to just soak up the largeness of the blue sky and gaze at the horses waiting at the corner of their fence for their evening feed. Mt. Rainier was just behind them with a fresh covering of snow from the 'Pineapple Express' that hit before I arrived on Friday.

With this, my dear readers, I will close my blog since it is no longer October and I am no longer in China.

It was good to see such an astouding place and meet such incredible people. Very good. And like every other trip I've ever taken, it's good to be home. Very good.