Bags packed...check.
Grandma-the-babysitter here...check.
Freezer and fridge stocked with easy meals...check.
Stomach full of nerves...check.
Passports...check.
Awesome trip-planning husband...check.
Unpredictable 18-month-old travelling companion...check.
I can hardly believe it, but yes, this afternoon we are off.
To Ethiopia.
To meet our little girls, to go to court to make them ours, to see our sons' hometown.
This trip seemed like such a huge deal back in early 2006. Now it seems we always know SOMEone travelling there, some of our dear friends are currently LIVING there...it almost feels like we're just taking a trip to New York or something.
Except for the whole vaccinations thing, and the fear of contracting travellers' diarrhea thing, and of course the 18-hour-flight thing.
But other than THAT...:)
I'm excited and nervous all at once. Truly. I've been on the brink of tears for days now...just THINKING about meeting our dear girls, of Mary Lu meeting her new sisters for the first time...yes, all of it is so overwhelming in every.possible.way.
I want to savor this moment, this trip. I want to drink deeply from the well that is this experience and be fully present so that the memories will imprint on my brain. Meeting an adopted child for the first time is something you never forget. It is what I would call a sacred moment, comparable to the birth of a biological child. Thus each of my children has this special story that I carry in my heart and in my head, and I desperately want M. and T. to have that too. I think they will.
If you remember, please do be praying for us: for our children at home and for my mom who is caring for them, for our health, for
Bon voyage, friends. So grateful for your love and support on this journey, that in many ways is only just beginning. And just think: as you sleep tonight, I'll be white-knuckling it over the Atlantic. Sweet dreams dear readers!
