On Saturday, May 26th our adoption agency had their huge Memorial Day reunion at the zoo. I called to ask that even though this is really for people who have already brought their children home, if we could still come. Of course they said yes and I was thrilled. I couldn't wait to be among people who truly "understood" adoption. The in's, the out's, all the abbreviations, the wait, the unknown and just the heart that adoptive families have. I had kind of been getting down in the dumps with some of the not so positive comments people had been making about our adoption. It has really quite shocked me! Even complete strangers feel the need to give their 2 cents on the subject (which they normally know nothing about). I guess it is just viewed differently then someone physically "showing" when they are pregnant. I mean, I've been pregnant twice and I only received kind words and excitement from everyone. But wow, is this time completely different!! Even the guy at the bank had something to say... We had been saving our change for a good 10 years now and decided to roll it all and take it to the bank to open a separate account for our trip to China. When we explained what we were doing he asked "how many palms did you have to grease to get this far?" WE ARE NOT PAYING CHINA FOR A BABY PEOPLE!! I kindly told him there is no bribery when adopting and in fact all of our money has gone to the US government (for paperwork, notaries, ....yada, yada, yada). And another one I just love is when people say that it is quite an "investment"...my daughter is NOT an item on the stock market! I truly don't think people are really intending to be rude, I just think they have pre-conceived notions on what they think adoption is. I guess I just need to de-bunk everyones misconceptions. The fact of the matter is we are having another child, should it matter whether I physically birth her? She will be a part of our family forever and in my opinion, blood isn't the only thing that makes a family a family. Don't get me wrong, we have several people that are truly happy and excited for our family, and to them I am forever grateful. But there are those that we encounter that are just ignorant to the subject and I have to remember that all people aren't going to "get it" and that is ok. To those of you who are amazingly supportive and excited, I cannot thank you enough! I don't know how I would make it through this process if I didn't have you all!
Anyway, to get off my soap box now...We had an absolute amazing time being surrounded by all the families that have already traveled to get their children! They all were so encouraging and supportive and excited for us. And since we didn't have a child from China to show off yet, I decided to have tee shirts made so people would know we were on our way. I had pink shirts made for my husband, myself, my son and daughter. My husband's and mine said "expecting" from China on the front along with our chinese characters for mommy and daddy. My son's said waiting on my mei mei (that means little sister in chinese) and my daughters said "my mei mei is on the way" (mei mei is pronounced may may).
And on the back of all of our shirts was the chinese symbol for love. Our shirts were a big hit and everyone loved them and I came home refreshed with my excitement meter filled back up!! But the neatest thing happened when we were leaving. See, ladybugs are believed to be good luck in the chinese adoption community and when one is sighted it is believed that a referral is not too far away. Well, as we were walking out of the zoo to our car I looked at my husband's back (since he was walking in front of me) and I couldn't believe my eyes...right there sitting on the bottom of the love symbol on his shirt was a ladybug! The first one I have seen this year! It was just the perfect ending to the perfect day! And in my opinion, it is God revealing Himself once again in this process and saying this is what I have planned for you, keep on pushing forward because you ARE doing the right thing. "Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west." Isaiah 43:5
