Homesick?

The cicadas mechanical hum fills every ounce of the heavy air around me. The sun drifts higher and higher in the sky and the occasional sun shower brings just enough moisture to the ground to make it difficult to breathe in the damp, dusty air. Big drops of sweat form as I sit and eat a bowl of noodles trickle down my nose and catch them just before they land in my dinner. We walk from house to bus, bus to shop, to bus to house, and out again. The methodical days move by in a sluggish daze and I know, this is summer.
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My timelines on Facebook and WeChat fill with pictures, posts, and stories of summer. The lazy days  on the island, the cool summer drinks, the advertisements for National Flip Flop Day, half-price milkshakes at Sonic and 3 dollar gelatos at Rita's. I see the signature sweet tea cup from McDonald's and can almost smell the hot wings in the oven, macaroni and cheese on the stove and warm chocolate chip cookies cooling on the counter. The occasional sun showers in Xiamen remind me so much of daily  showers we would get in Lehigh. The mechanical hum of cicadas brings me immediately to my room on the south side of our house, and the humidity hangs just low enough to remind me of sultry games of basketball on the street outside my house.
I want my Mother's Pasta Fagioli (Regardless of how hot it is outside) in a big bowl on the couch in front of Wheel of Fortune. I want to drive to Sun Harvest for a Key Lime/Chocolate Twist ice cream and drink some of the best lemonade you've ever had. I want to go to the fish market with my Dad to get a fresh grouper sandwich with seasoned thick fries in a paper bag and a massive Styrofoam cup of sweet tea. I want to go by the deserted soccer fields and play a game of pick up with whoever happens to be there that night.
I find myself desperately missing summer in America.
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I torment myself with the memories of what was and almost forget to embrace the what is.
I used to hate the heavy air of Southwest Florida, the mosquitos, the heat, the monotony of life. Filling time with going on an evening outing to Kohls or Bed-Bath-And BEYOND got tiresome to me. When the biggest thing that happened was when you noticed your neighbors actually cleaned out their back yard…but now that all of that is so far away, I want nothing more than to embrace it all again. Like an old, familiar friend, embrace it and spend as much time as I can there.

So I have to ask myself. What is it about this life I now lead that I will miss whenever I leave it? This is the art of remembering to embrace wherever you are in life. Always remembering that your situation will never be forever, no matter how long it seems, and one day, you will miss the hair sticking to your forehead, not because you're sweating yet, but because of the sheer heavy moisture in the air… One day, you will miss trips to Bingo to get the Mangua Yizu zhi Bing Xia (fresh mango smoothie with coconut milk). Just as much as you miss the Pinapple, Mango, Coconut Gelato with vanilla yogurt from  Rita's or the Cherry Limade from Sonic. One day you will miss the 45 minute drive home through the country and yet you will miss the 45 minute bus ride it takes to go 12 city blocks.

The point is, we never know how to appreciate what we've been given until we realize it's gone. After the celebration of what we call "freedom", we find ourselves melancholy for what was. So break the cycle! Embrace today. It's all you get today!
Embrace today and eat something you won't regret not eating, tomorrow. :)