Gummy Worms

I love gummy worms.  When we were living in China last fall, I craved them.  I don't think it was because I was pregnant; I think it was because I was homesick and wanted something that was familiar and undeniably non-Chinese.  About 3/4 of the way through our stay, we went on a trip to Shanghai.  We visited a temple there surrounded by little restaurants and shops.  One of the shops was a candy store that sold all kinds of western confections--including gummy worms.  We were going to get some and I was really excited, but then we realized that they were ridiculously expensive.  We're talking like a dollar a worm.  (Alright, so it might have been two worms to the dollar.  I don't remember exactly, but it was bad.)  I tend to be a little bit of a penny pincher, so I decided that I could wait a few more weeks and have some gummy worms at home where they don't cost a pint of blood.  (Just in case you were wondering, Hugh would have let me get them if I had wanted to--he's all for doing whatever makes me happy, even if the price isn't exactly reasonable.)  To tell you the truth, we've been home for eight months now, and I don't think I've had a single gummy worm.  Once they (and every other food I was used to) were readily available the need abated.  However, I would really like a bowl of soup from our favorite Muslim food restaurant in Nanjing or a sandwich from Max Chicken, which was a 20 minute walk one way just for lunch, but it was worth it. 

Having a new baby is kind of like living in a foreign country in that sometimes it is really hard and you are baffled by the differentness of it all, and sometimes you are tired and grouchy and you forget why you're there in the first place.  But also in that sometimes it's new and exciting and beautiful, and one day, when my babies are all grown up and having their own babies I will miss this sometimes and wish that I could go back--just for a visit :) .