This is what a room full of nervous soon-to-be parents looks like.
We were all eagerly waiting for our kids to come, wondering if we would recognize them. I didn't have to worry as I knew Lydia the moment I saw her.
Of course I lost it and probably scared the poor thing who then felt like she needed to cry too.
Amazingly, she calmed down as soon as I pointed out my picture in the photo album I had sent to her months earlier. All of a sudden she recognized the lunatic lady.
Just as we were settling down and getting to know each other...
I was told that Naomi had arrived.
She didn't cry when she saw me as she immediately shunned me. You could tell that she was close to the gal that brought her, as the caretaker did not seem to be in a hurry to hand her over. I tried wooing her...
but nothing seemed to work. To make matters worse, I was called away to complete paperwork before I had an opportunity to make any connection with her. I had to ask Sissy to stay there with her. By the time I returned, her caretaker had left. I think she blamed me for it as the shunning continued.
She tolerated me long enough to sit on my lap for the bus ride to the hotel, but after that she became Aunt Pam's shadow.
Today we went to the registration office to finalize the adoptions. The officials made a short speech and then handed us our adoption certificates.
Then we were all official!
When we returned to the hotel, I left about an hour and a half later with Lydia to go to her home city. Of course right when it was time to leave, I smelled a most unpleasant odor. The guide told me I should just change her in the car on the way. Yeah, so we had to smell the results for the long journey. Did I say the guide does not have children of her own? It was a long drive (2 + hours there and back), but this is how she looked going both directions.
Yes, it was golden. The drive gave me an opportunity to see something other than the city.
We made it to the police station where I was hoping to dispose of the dirty diaper, but I was afraid of starting an international incident by dropping a bomb in a Chinese police station.
The "interview'' I had was only about 5 minutes long. The policewoman very seriously gave her speech (through the interpreter) about how thankful China was that I was adopting and that she needed to ask me a few questions. She was very serious about the whole thing, and I knew I wasn't going to mess with her. She asked about James' and my occupations, and then she asked if I had any biological children. I said I had four. Then the interpreter said, "So this is your first adoption?" I said that no, it was my third. She exclaimed, "This is number 7?" She then spoke to the police officer and I knew the instant the info was communicated by the expression on the officer's face. It was so funny I burst out laughing which then caused her and the orphanage officials who were present to laugh too. After the formalities were over, she produced a picture of Lydia she had taken when the orphanage officials had brought Lydia in for her passport application.
I was very excited when I learned that we could visit Lydia's orphanage which was close by. Wow, was it ever an experience. I learned that she and five other children lived their lives primarily in two rooms. This is the room in which they played and ate
This is where they slept
This is where they got their "baths"
She was clearly loved as the nannies were thrilled to see her. As expected, she did not want to come back to me, but it was fine in the end.
It was heartbreaking being there in many ways, not the least of which was how the other kids were pulling and tugging on me to get my attention. It was also the reality that Lydia had missed out on a lot and there were so many getting left behind.
But as another dad put it, "We can't take them all." It's true, so what I can do is to do my utmost best to open up the world for my daughter and love love love her, oh yeah, and embarrass her in the grocery store like a good mom.
Tomorrow the real test begins....the long road trip with the child who is on a "no momma" strike. Stay tuned for heavy drama and compelling photos!
No comments:
Post a Comment