I turned 34 this week.

That's Shanghai Moms is an Urbanatomy blog by moms in Shanghai with stories to tell.

As happy as I am with my life, I cannot help but feel a little shocked as I write those numbers down especially when I still have vivid-every-day-life memories of my childhood - the kind that seem useless to remember like mundane moments that could have taken place yesterday! I remember driving to school with my father in the morning as he listened to a cassette over and over again when he tried to teach himself Japanese. I remember making jasmine necklaces and jasmine tea on weekends. I remember standing on the balcony with my sister and parents to watch fireworks while making wishes to one another. Memories infused with the love and the care my parents gave us.

That's Shanghai Moms is an Urbanatomy blog by moms in Shanghai with stories to tell.

   
Once upon a time in a beautiful lush land, by a stream, lived a family of lions. The youngest of the family was Buppa, a cute but strong and smart 3-year old cub. Buppa loved to play under the shadow of Baobabs, trees…so high. On a sunny winter afternoon, as Buppa laid under his favorite tree watching the clouds go by and change shapes in the sky, he heard a nightingale singing “chi-veet, chi-veet”. He looked up to find the singing bird - and this is how he met his soon to become best friend Lila.

(Attention Deficit Motherhood Disorder)

That's Shanghai Moms is a new Urbanatomy blog by moms in Shanghai with stories to tell.   

“I think I’ve got ADHD”, my friend Denise said to me as she scanned her living room confused looking for a brochure she had just had in her hand to show me.

    “Why?” I asked her.

Originally posted on Shayas in Shanghai on May 31, 2010.

That's Shanghai Moms is a new Urbanatomy blog by moms in Shanghai with stories to tell.   

This morning, as I walked back to our home after taking Max to the school bus, I was greeted by a beautiful chicken standing in my driveway. This is one of those 'Big City-Small Town' phenomenons that comprise the experience of living in Shanghai. It is not uncommon for Shanghainese to own several chickens, as a kind of pet that keeps on giving - eggs. Why they find this necessary given the ease with which one can purchase eggs for a pittance ($1.50 a dozen at Carrefour, much less if you go to the local fruit/vegetable market), I don't fully understand. However, I think it is a symbol of a country that has progressed so rapidly, and recently, that its people scarcely have time to adjust.

The Deal on the Family Ideal

That's Shanghai Moms is an Urbanatomy blog by moms in Shanghai with stories to tell. 

"Loving one’s children and loving the act of parenting is not the same thing."

Jennifer Senior, All Fun, No Joy, Article in New York Magazine

"We are nodes in a social network that arises and falls by a logic of its own, which is why we continue to toil, continue to mate, and continue to be surprised when we do not experience all the joy we so gullibly anticipated.  "

Daniel Gilbert, Stumbling Upon Happiness