On the 25th February 2007 we flew from BeiJing to ChangSha and settled into the Dalton hotel, this was our first visit. I can only look back at my notes from that time as the specifics have faded and they read as follows:
26th February 2007 - breakfast was a nervous affair, tables of worried parents picked nervously at their food, we were among them. The evening meal was very different as we had a hungry little girl hell bent on eating everything.
She cried and cried to begin with and who could have blamed her, she was suddenly moved from the familiar to the unfamiliar. She was packed in three layers of clothes and placed in the arms of strangers, bundled onto a coach and whisked away. I stripped off some of her clothes on the coach, as the perspiration was dripping from her head, and opened a window to allow some air to enter into her new life.
It is such a privilege to be a parent and we are privileged to welcome our new daughter into our lives. Part of today was frightening and I was resentful of the mechanical conveyor-belt-like handover. It did not detract from the immediate desire to look after this child, to hold her, to reassure her, to make her life better. The feeling of bond and love was undeniable, she was our daughter, biological or not. I had not expected this quite so soon, but here we were, three were now four.
Our son, who was seven at the time had isolated and cried a lot, he burst today and said 'I have been waiting for two years'. We involved him in many of the chores when we returned to the Dalton, bathing, feeding and entertaining. I was sure he would be a good big brother.
27th February 2007 - in the pool, communicating with no common language, walking, laughing, the brother and sister dynamic, and ChangSha in the rain.
28th February 2007 - brought a stroller from Walmart and went swimming before breakfast.
The 'clothes police' caught us on the street, Chinese women of a certain age who 'know better', sat and made as if cold whilst we were on our way to the park. They dress their babies as if it were arctic conditions and chastise anyone who does otherwise.
1st March 2007 - our daughter was doing very well and her ability to adapt was outstanding. She did poo on the carpet, but hey, nobody's perfect! She was walking and vocalizing well and the brother/sister rapport was going well.
I think it was worth mentioning these notes as it helps put the visit to ChangSha into context, especially the hotel, pool and Walmart. What we did not do or see on the first visit was the orphanage and that was where we were off to next.
No comments:
Post a Comment