Roll Call: My Favorite Writing From 2021
2021 was both difficult and surprising. It’s no surprise that this is reflected in the stories I wrote.
2021 was both difficult, and at times, wonderful. It’s no surprise that this is reflected in the stories I wrote, primarily for Jingkids International (formerly Beijing Kids). I still write for them and The Beijinger occasionally, but moving into 2022, I used my experiences to branch out to more publications. I can’t wait to share the new works with you, but in the meantime, here are some of my favorites from last year!
First, I reported on how the pandemic increased the divorce rate in China, causing the government to increase the wait time from hours to 30 days. You read that right; a couple in China used to be able to get divorced as soon as they requested it. But quarantine will make anyone rethink their life partners….
My favorite aspect of writing for parenting sites is the chance to explore how my family navigates technology, and share those discoveries. “Pandemics Among Us: How Roleplaying Helped my Kids Through COVID” was an interesting reflection:
From the minute I heard we would create more videos, I knew I wanted to do a time-lapse LEGO brick build. What kind of Mom would I be if I didn’t? Enter the special CNY sets, The Tale of Nian specifically, and some gymnastics with the camera angles!
Most of my winter was occupied by acting as Editor for the 2021-22 Beijing School Choice Guide. This is a massive undertaking of collaboration between departments and school officials every year, made even more special to me because I personally used this guide to help my family choose a school for our relocation back in 2018:
I knew who Jane Goodall was, of course, but moving to China and getting introduced to her Roots & Shoots program was inspiring to me. I even started my own R&S outdoor adventure group for kids! Here I covered a webinar where they encourage young women to travel:
Relocating across the world put a lot into perspective for our family, especially the ways we wanted our children to experience it. Is an immersive or bilingual environment better for your kids, for instance?
Schools always have their own sets of rules, and COVID-19 introduced an entirely new checklist for parents to ask at their open house. I grumbled a little while going through these procedures, but I miss all the care and comfort these protocols gave us back then:
How many times have we moved? So many that once we confirmed we were leaving Beijing, I started the process of clearing clutter. It’s my zen time, a way to examine our possessions and decide what relationship we want to have to our home and the objects within it again:
Sometimes writing helps me untangle my own emotions, and I knew that repatriating back to the US would be the hardest for my youngest. He didn’t remember ever living in the United States; writing it out like this put our experience in perspective so we could prepare for the big move:
Our March issue of Beijing Kids not only had my oldest on the cover, but I got to use my husband as a source for why people should stop treating Dads like inferior caregivers, for their and their family’s sake. I also got to reference our favorite show “Bluey”.
Summer approaching also meant that people wanted to travel, whether back home or to a new locale. But travel restrictions to China kept changing and after a lot of research and help, I wrote one of my most widely read pieces in my entire time there:
I love Forest Schools, so along the “play” theme of our March issue, I had the privilege to interview many teachers who could help parents learn how to scaffold play into learning:
It had been almost a year since my own transition from a trailing spouse to a working mom. I realized I had never written about doing that, and so offered up a few tips for anyone about to make the change:
On the topic of relocating for a job, I put all of my knowledge of relo into an article that was featured in the Jingkids’ relo issue. Then I adapted it for people moving anywhere, not just to China, including a downloadable pdf:
There are as many books about parenting as there are parents, it seems like. So I loved reviewing all these unconventional books for the unconventional parent, including Julie Vicks’ “Babies Don’t Make Small Talk, So Why Should I?”
A great editor knows the right person to assign to a touchy story, So when my friend and former editor asked for a parent’s response to a viral video of a woman rebuffing a stalker, I was honored and put a lot of heart into it:
Returning to the states from China, I knew I had a wealth of stories to share. I didn’t understand exactly how difficult it would be to put it all into context, but I did it, thanks to Insider’s careful editors. So many people from around the globe sent me a screenshot of my article on their feeds. After a year of writing for expats, it was like my reintroduction back into US media:
The Beijinger turned twenty years old this year, and they ran a cool series of profiles on the long term Beijingers who’d also lived there more than twenty years. I had the great privilege to interview not only Newsweek’s Beijing Bureau Chief Melinda Liu but also a man whose name is associated with The Great Wall, William Lindesay!
Read Melinda's profile Read William's profile
Last year brought a lot of change to the Jenkins clan, and as we work on digging deep on some roots, I’m sure a lot more stories will flow. I’d love you to follow my work here!