Lame Duck

I've been feeling a little bleh about my blog lately.  It's not that I haven't had ideas to write about, I've taken tons of pictures of interesting things with an idea to blog about them, but....  I don't know.  I just haven't wanted to write.  Part of the problem is that the weather has turned cooler and also grayer.  I think another problem is that we got our next assignment.  (USA 2014 BABY!) The Foreign Service lifestyle is good and bad.  I have many expat friends and it seems that knowing a year out approximately when you are going to leave, and where you are going is a rarity.  In some ways it's awesome to know that they are not going to tell me to be out of China by the end of the month (or in 2 weeks as I have heard happening).  It is also awesome to be able to plan for tricky assignments; read up on schools, figure out what we should take, do some seasonal shopping, etc.  

On the other hand, I KNOW that a year from now I am going to be in Washington DC (well, maybe).  So Wuhan no longer holds a great deal of attraction.  It's like having senioritis, but it happens every two years.  I could make new friends, but I'm leaving in a year, I could go explore a new part of the city, but I'm leaving in a year....  See how that could become a problem?  It also tends to make me negative about the place I'm living.  Ew, I'm glad I'm leaving, look how they.....  

This kind of thinking is a trap.  If you do this, especially in the foreign service on a two year rotation, you never end up liking where you are, but are always looking forward/back.  It is very important to live in the here and now, and not focus on where you were 6 months ago, or where you want to be 6 months from now.  

One of the reasons why I write this blog is to help me remember to keep an eye out for new experiences. This lifestyle is a gift, and I should try to keep my sense of wonder about the world around me.