Happiness is...

...when I don't have to wait 30 minutes in the humid sun for the bus to arrive. Or at the intersection. Or for the train. Or for my connecting bus to arrive. In a word, happiness is when I can make it from one side of town to the other in less than 50 minutes. (Since it only takes 25 minutes to ride a push bike from one side of town to the other, I don't think this is too much to ask. Is it?)

...when my husband cooks me dinner. Sleeping in next to him on a Monday morning (I love Mondays! The only day we both have off together.) And when he reads to me from 'that Book we all like to read' before we go to bed at night. Or offers me his second pillow so I can now sleep on three pillows in various positions. Happiness is when he gives me a foot rub even when I know he'd rather be doing something else.

...when I can remember all my characters and impress my teacher. On Tuesdays this can happen -- by Thursday, well, I'm not sure what goes on in that supposed brain of mine.

...when I put something in the oven and remember it's there before it burns.

...when the restaurant or shop has nice bathrooms. Albeit my standard for 'nice' has probably gone down. By 'nice' I mean, cleanish, has good light, and can be summed up in one word: McDonalds. (Meaning McDonald's has the nicest bathrooms in town...and KFC...wonder why? I hate supporting these establishments but sometimes, I just can't use the other bathrooms.)

...going to your favourite restaurant after months of not going and finding out it's still there!

...watching a dvd all the way to the end without it stopping, switching to Russian, or having a fat little Chinese man walk across the bottom of the screen several times -- actually just watching a dvd in English is happiness to me!

...discovering a really nice pool within 10 minutes walking distance from your house and having it predominately to yourself between the hours of 3:30 to 5:30 in the afternoon. I am not afraid to tan!

...sun -- it cures everything.

...Chinglish -- it never ceases to make me laugh.

...$2 hair washes and massages for under $5. If that's not reason to stay in China, I don't know what is.

...Chinese Ayi's (Aunties) who offer me all sorts of pregnancy and child rearing advice -- from the weird to the 'makes sense' -- but that's a whole other post right there. At least, I'm trying to convince myself of this one.

...the apartments we lived in since being here. Especially this one. Air conditioning. Couches that aren't made from wood. And it only took us one whole day to 'thoroughly clean' the entire place. Happiness is a thoroughly, spring cleaned, mould free apartment!

...playing with 'my kids' at the orphanage. Letting them rub my belly (ok...this is hard for me but happiness is seeing the look on their faces while they rub my belly...like some kind of magical thing has happened...it's weird). Hearing them try to use their English around me and patiently correcting my Chinese over and over and over... Happiness is trying to translate 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' into Chinese...or is that hilarity?

...knowing that my children will see the world while they're still young and speak better Chinese than me. And probably eat stranger food than I have, like, oh, I don't know, say, duck tongue? And perhaps enjoy Durian. Although they will have to eat that outside.

...mis-matched dishes and recycled clothes -- because I am not afraid to use them.

...emails, facebook and blogs -- because I swear there's a rest of the world where they don't wear skin toned nylon socks with their sandals and short shorts because you can't see them or that the mullet hair-style is not still in fashion. And Christmas decoration most emphatically should not still be up in June (no matter how much more like Christmas, June feels than December).

...happiness is minimalisticism. I know that's not a word but I'm inventing it. It's a way of living without too much stuff. If it doesn't fit within the luggage limit, it doesn't come. If it doesn't fit into two boxes, it doesn't stay. If you buy something new, you give away something. If I can't answer 'Yes, I truly need that.' -- maybe, just maybe, I don't really need to get it this time. Again, another thing I'm working to convince myself of.

...when my Chinese friends want to go out for coffee or tea or some other un-caffeinated drink and actually talk about things that matter in life. No shopping.

...knowing that in 49 more sleeps, I'll see my family for the first time in four and a half years!

...knowing that in 20 something weeks, I'll meet my precious baby, face to face, for the first time.