My latest find at the Bird and Flower Market – Air Plants

“Mom, we’re out of hamster food.”

“Then it’s off to the Bird and Flower Market.” A favourite stop. We’ve just returned from our three month tour of Canada and are getting settled in again.

Leaving the cloudy construction zone that is home – there has been near-constant construction around us since we moved in three years ago – and stepping into a lush Eden refreshed my soul.

We immediately spotted a row of potted trees, any of which would make our space more homey. Chatting with the storekeeper, a sweet lady not even five feet tall, we said, “We’d like one of those. We’re going to buy fish and then we’ll be back.” Picturing that tree replacing the shrivelled brown of the one that died while we were away was already making me feel more at home being back in China.

We entered The Bird and Flower Market. It is a multi-level building filled with shops nestled side by side with a section for fish, dogs, birds and reptiles, and plants, all condensed into a small space and in true Asian style, filled to overflowing. To get to the fish we had to climb stairs and enter the puppy section. It was like stepping onto the set of 101 Dalmatians, except with puppies of every breed. Piles of cages lined the aisles and dogs clamoured for our attention. Some of the cages were open on top and the little balls of fur nearly leaped into our arms. I knew my daughter could happily stay all day. Even Brian, who is not a dog person, smiled as he scratched a playful thing on the head. The kids and I fell in love and wondered how we could possibly ever choose a puppy if we didn’t already have our cuddly Stanley.

As we reached the end of the aisle and walked toward the fish, we passed a few stray stalls. The puppies were behind us and the fish before us. In those few steps my kids, faces lit with animation, started pulling out memories. “Remember when we bought our hamster here?”

“Up there is where dad got his fish!”

“The bearded dragons are that way!”

They were truly alive. I paused, and soaked it in.

To see my kids aglow, to be in a place that brings life to my family, filled me with joy. We visited many exciting destinations this summer, but something stirred deep within as we returned to a place that has been an ongoing part of our experience. It brought comfort and relief.

After the thrill of our travels, I wasn’t sure how my kids would feel about being back. I was not surprised by their questions like, “Why do we live in China and not Canada?” and was thankful for conversations that sprang from them. What did surprise me was how gratified they are to be back, how quickly they have picked up where they left off and the growing sense of fulfilment they find in living here. I felt deeply blessed, as I stood in the Bird and Flower market, to see evidence of their contentment.

I wish our families, with whom we spent the summer, could witness it too. I wish they could see my oldest weighing his options on fish for the tank he bought with his own money. I wish they could hear our resident zoologist naming various breeds of hamsters and crabs as we passed them, viewing as many types of pets as even he could hope for. I wish they could see my girl following the shopkeeper – who is speaking to her in Chinese – down the aisle of her shop, admiring various plants and feeling comfortable in a place that our families would consider foreign.

I wish there could be more overlap between our two worlds. But as we re-establish our home, Canada fades into the background. Our summer with family and friends will gradually move from experience to memory and the teeter-totter of our lives will again settle firmly on the China side.

As the gap between our two worlds broadens, I will strive to catch these moments of wonder, to share them with you, to create an overlap of our two distant, different worlds.

And I’ll keep taking my kids to buy hamster food at the Bird and Flower Market.