Friday, May 21, 2010

Late night rambles…..

May 15 going on 16

So, the browser says my blog post posted. Hum. I’d say 50/50. Ethiopia is wonderful, but the land of fast internet, as of yet, not so much.

The altitude does get me down. Spaces one out and makes one oddly tired, off and on. Water helps, maybe sleep would be the next step, but we are trying to stay asleep through the 3 am witching hour. Last visit, we were awake every night for 5 or 6 days at 3 am. Yesterday, our first night, we stayed up until 11 or so.

We miss the schmee. He does open doors, mostly to people, but also to a culture. Children are interesting litmus of a culture, and in Ethiopia, it is a beautiful test; they love children. This is the first time he is away from both of us and I can't think about it much, cause I miss him so.
In fact, I just woke up, cause I dreamt about him. Because of Facebook, we had reports of his day. He went to the park with his cousins and we call him in the morning…his morning. He had pancakes for breakfast and was having a chocolate cookie when we called. He was quite happy.
Tomorrow, I think we meet the lawyer, then maybe go to the country, then come home to see miss lulu, dinner and done. Mdh wants to skip the trip, I wish he would go, as every different part of Ethiopia I see makes me want to know more, to dive deeper into it. It is easy to stay in, and so enriching to go out, but he needs to find his way.

On the plane, we met a lovely young man returning for his brother’s wedding. He invited us to come. Please come, he said, and he meant it. The time of the wedding was our first time to see Miss B, so, we did not go, but I know we would have been welcomed with open arms. His father is a Vet, an animal doctor in Gondar and he and his brother have been at college in the US. He is trying for medical school, and his brother works in computers.
His open heartedness is something I have seen again and again in Ethiopia. Welcome, hello and openheartedness are a theme. Miss B is very, very smiley, and I hope we can make her more so; perhaps she comes by it from her lovely birth country.
She is young and very alert. She is very interested in the things around her. Eye contact is good, not great, but she did remember us. Big smile when she noticed us. We are a bit much, so then she looks away, but big smiles, when she saw us, all afternoon. I hope by Monday we are so in the groove.

Strange being here with our lovely PAP’s, when last time we were the only guests. Lots of families, one family from Oklahoma, another from Kansas, one from AZ, another from Indiana, one from Portland, and someone from St. Louis. I think that is everyone! Everyone is lovely, but all of us come across questions, concerns, and wonderings. It is so easy to let emotions ricochet off one another, and it is also really wonderful to meet others on a similar journey. The couple adopting siblings seemed to break through to their two children today, as I think everyone did. Two fathers are visiting, one with a mother in law, the other with a father in law, and they were both doing great. One is a first time dad, and he rocked it today, holding his son and being with him. Isn't that half the battle? Meeting them, where they are at, showing up and being present? Sounds easy, but isn't always. Two parents are single mothers, adopting and they both looked so happy. Extra fun to see the first time parents falling in love.

There was a disappointment today. Sometimes, you can have your child come stay with you at YGF, over the weekend, but it looks as if the rules are changing at the same time the 2 trips are coming into play. We will get to take custody on Monday, on the same day as our Embassy date. A French group left earlier tonight and a group from Dove left just before we arrived, with one family leaving around the same time as the French group. Between the volcano erupting, the election and the rain, it has been very quiet, now suddenly, everyone is arriving at once. Crazy!
We also met the father of the family we bought special formula for. He was great. He plays basketball in Europe, and they are adopting two boys. Andrea, Eli and I met his wife and the boys last visit. We brought some supplies and they want to take us out for dinner to say thank you. So nice. One of the boys has been in the hospital, but is out and is doing much better. They now have an Embassy date and hope to be on the way home at the end of the month. I hope we get to join up. Traveling and adopting make for a crazy schedule. Trying to fit things in is a bit of a wild ride!

Lulu-B is coming home. She has some more meat on her bones and has gained some weight. She is fabulous and very interested in the world. I want to get her home, get her to the doctor to check her out and start her new life, respecting this beautiful country she is from.

Battery is almost dead. Signing off…..Mandy, Meira, if you read this, please send the info I need to my dear husband’s email! Although, we will be in the US tomorrow.

Late night in Ethiopia….

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