That's All, Folks!

Let me begin this final blog entry by writing BLAST!!!!!!!!!! I just lost the entire text of this same blog entry when Safari unexpectedly shut down. Two full pages!!!! So now I’m trying to re-construct what I lost. I write again, BLAST!!!!!!

Thursday the 25th was not technically the last day of our trip to China, but it was the last day during which anything official took place. Today, our group of three families, along with about 50 other American adoptive families, went to the US Consulate in Guangzhou for the “swearing in,” as adoptive families call the ceremony. All 100 or so of us boarded four or five buses at the White Swan Hotel to make the 30-minute drive to the Consulate. Due to the oppressive heat and humidity here in southern China, and also to the fact that our old bus had no A/C to speak of, the ride seemed much longer. Still, about 30 minutes later we found ourselves in the city center, surrounded by many massive skyscrapers (some 80 floors high!), manicured parks, and spotless sidewalks. We gushed off the bus and headed into the building that houses the US Consulate. And a motley crew we were, too. Some of us (self and wife included) chose to dress up just a bit for the occasion; others simply wore shorts, t-shirts, and sandals. Why they could not see fit to respect the occasion a bit more I don’t know. We weren’t headed to the beach, we were headed to a formal government ceremony after which our children will be American citizens! Whatever…

Anyway, the building was nicely air conditioned, so we were thrilled. Via escalator, we all went up to the 4th floor, cleared security (no cameras allowed at all, which is whey you see no pix of the ceremony), and found ourselves in a large waiting room with about 150 chairs arranged in rows. We took seats and waited for instructions from our various guides. After about 15 minutes, we were told to line up at one of the many windows. There, officials would visually match our names and faces to our adoption paperwork and passports. The, we took our seats again. 10 minutes later, one of the top US officials in the Consulate came out and addressed us all via microphone. He began with a few short words about how this year the U.S. would far surpass last year’s record of well over 8,000 Chinese adoptions, how this was the world’s largest adoption center, and how lucky these little girls (and a few boys) were to have us. Sidebar: why do so many people refer to these little girls as “lucky” and never mention how equally lucky we, the parents, are???? People make the mistake of thinking we adopt the girls as act of charity. We don’t. We adopt them because we either PREFER to have families through adoption (as is the case with Colleen and me) or because we MUST have families through adoption. In the end, we want families. And yes, the little Chinese girls are lucky, but no luckier than we are.

Anyway, after the official’s short address, the ceremony ended in a flash when he asked all of us collectively, “Is the information you have provided the United States, written and oral, fully accurate?” We all answered either “It is” or “Yes.” The, he offered his congratulations and we all broke into applause and congratulated those around us, even if we didn’t know who they were. 10 minutes later, we were back on our buses and headed to the hotel.

This was the last night we would have with our travel group as they were headed home the next day while Colleen and I were headed home in two days. A last communal dinner was a given and we decided to eat at Lucy’s, a thoroughly American restaurant about 2 blocks from the hotel. It was built along the lines of a very casual beachfront restaurant in Florida, something like The Snook in Marco Island for those of you who have been there. It is covered in posters of American movies and movie stars, license plates from all the U.S. states, has outdoor seating with thatched umbrellas and colored lights overhead and American music playing throughout. The menu is also thoroughly American: spaghetti, cheeseburgers, chicken wraps, French fries, blueberry cheesecake, etc.

We had a fantastic time, and the occasion was bittersweet. One the one hand, we were all anxious to get home to our lives and our families after over 2 weeks away. On the other hand, we all became very close to each other in a very short period of time. We had literally built our families in the presence and with the help of the 2 other families in our travel group. We shared each other’s happiness and helped each other through the tough spots. We made each other laugh, learned about each other’s lives, ate together, and even watched over each other’s kids for short periods of time. Bonds were formed, and I know Colleen and I will miss the other two families in our group very much. We sincerely hope to stay in touch with them, especially since they live fairly close to us.

After dinner we went back to the hotel for the last step of the trip” a group picture (see accompanying photo). The shot was taken in the hotel’s massive waterfall atrium at night, so the light wasn’t very good, but I still like the shot. The family on the left side of the picture is the Howells (Roy and Kelly, with first daughter Ally), and the family on the right side of the picture is the Oliveris, (Nat and Kathy, with new daughter Lyric). You might recognize the family in the center.

So now they’re all on airplanes home, and our little family leaves tomorrow. We spent the day by ourselves today, doing a little last minute shopping for family and friends (see photo of Colleen and Michael of Michael's Gift Shop, one of Guangzhou's many), eating lunch and having drinks at Blendz (a Starbucks-like coffee house and eatery...see photo of interior) and resting while Sha Sha napped. We also got most of our packing done well ahead of time, thanks to Colleen. Only a few do-dads left to pack, and then off to bed. The journey home will be a long one. We have a 4:30 AM pick-up tomorrow, arrive at Hong Kong Airport at 7:00, take off for Newark Airport at 10:15, land just after 2:00 PM local time, and should be home in Norwalk by about 4:30 PM. That means the time between hotel pick-up and arrival at home is 24 hours!!! Whoa. On the other end, though, are Emma and home. We miss both very much.

So the journey is just about over. But what a ride! It was thrilling, tiring, emotional, hysterical, enlightening, social, mind opening, re-affirming, and heartening. We will never forget a single moment of this trip, just as we’ve never forgotten a single moment of our trip over to get Emma. And, we’re even looking forward to our next trip over, probably in about 2 years. Our third daughter’s name, by the way, will be Mary.

Adoption is not for everyone, but for those who want or need to adopt to start a family it is an utterly delightful, rewarding, and beautiful way to go about it. Just seeing all the families here who are giddy with happiness as they begin their new lives with their new children speaks for itself. Thanks to adoption, Colleen and I now have two gorgeous, happy, intelligent, and confident little girls who will undoubtedly go on to great things. And what a thrill to know that our family spans two cultures!

We stopped by our church in Westport a few hours before leaving for the airport to begin our journey back on the 11th. We asked God to bless our journey, our new daughter, and our family going forward. We have not been disappointed and we continue to grateful for His blessings.

Thanks to all for reading and for your emails of support. We look forward to having you be an integral part of our family from here on out!