FAMILY DAY

I wish I could say I was like a kid a Christmas that morning but I wasn't.  I think I was too numb.

I really didn't know what to expect meeting my daughter for the first time.

All the other parents to be were running around, talking non-stop, giggling, crying, excited beyond belief.

I wasn't like that. 

All I kept thinking was that I was going to be a mom but I had no earthly idea what I was doing.  Okay, maybe I wasn't just numb, I was scared.  I had live by myself for 21 years at this point.  What was I going to do with a 12 month old?  Was I up to this?  I didn't even have a pet so what was I going to do now?

All of that changed when my adoption group got off the elevator of the civil affairs building to get our children.

There were caregivers everywhere holding these precious little girls ready (or not) to go to their forever families in the United States.  There was even a boy adoptee in the mix.

I was with my Aunt Beverly.  She had seen the same pictures of my new daughter that I did but she didn't know which one was my Mei Yu.  It took me all of about 5 seconds to search the big room and find my soon to be daughter.  Beverly asked me how I knew it was Mei Yu and I just smiled and said, "a mother knows."

Sure enough, that was Mei Yu.  Yes, she was still Mei Yu at this point.  She looked scared and confused but adorable beyond belief.  She was dressed in a little pair of shorts with matching white cotton top trimmed in blue piping.  She had a barrette in her hair to keep the long, front locket off of her face.  She wore this tiny little pair of sandals with yellow lace that looked a little tattered on the side but she was clean and well-nourished.  And she was mine

We were told not to go to our babies because they would be "officially" given to us after we all entered the conference room.  Since I was no longer numb OR scared I went to Mei Yu's caregiver and motioned that I wanted to hold her.

Mei Yu didn't like that one bit.  She started screaming at the top of her lungs and just about broke my neck trying to get away from me.  She pushed and pushed and pushed wanting to go back to her caregiver.  I was holding on with all my might not to drop her!  I think this picture says it all.

Mei Yu continued to cry like that ALL DAY long.  The only time she stopped was when we walked into the restaurant for lunch and dinner.  I was dumbfounded because as soon as we walked in, not only did she stop crying but she started smiling and waving to everyone.  What a hoot!  She was a little social butterfly.

She was MY little social butterfly.