Two Month Gotcha Anniversary & Final Post

Two months ago today we drove from The Central Hotel in Nanjing to the Civil Affairs office. We waited while two families with kids from other orphanages met their children. We did a little paperwork and waited some more. Just writing this gives me knots in my stomach and tears come to my eyes. Two families watched out a big window hoping for a glimpse of Ming-Jie and Ming-Wa and suddenly there they were making their way along the parking lot in the arms of their nanny and the orphanage director.

Without the video mom took, I wouldn't be able to tell you who was carrying Jie-Jie. For me, it's like he floated into that building and into that room on a cloud of mist. I saw only him. His clothes, his hair, his expression. Was he scared? Would he cry? Would he come to us? Would he welcome or reject us at this first meeting. Ming-Jie. Who was he? What was he like? Was he wild and undisciplined? Was he aggressive and hyper? Did we dare hope for a well adjusted, happy child. Ming-Jie. Finally, in the flesh, as if he magically stepped out of the pictures we had been studying over the five months we had waited for him. Was he real?

And he accepted us! And we began to fall in love with our bright, joyous, affectionate, caring, little Jie-Jie. Our ideas of who he might be vanished as we learned who he was. He fell into absolute and complete love with his Baba during those first few hours. Watching him, reaching for him, playing with him. Building a bond of trust that has only grown over the past 2 months.

And now Jie-Jie is all ours. He is our son. Not because some papers say so, but because he trusts and loves us and we trust and love him. He has become Eva's brother. Last night as she kissed him good night she told him, 'I love you.' She looks for him when he's in a different room, she talks and laughs and jumps off the stairs with him. We have neatly folded into Jie-Jie's world and he has neatly folded into our lives. There are so many people who helped bring Jie-Jie into our family. We want to thank Colette, our tenacious, ever positive sponsor who worked so hard to get Jie-Jie home. We want to thank our agency and especially Mireille who didn't give up when things looked bad. We want to thank Jennifer and her parents for giving me transport and shelter during that stormy week we left for China. Thanks to Juliette our patient, resourceful guide who got us out of Nanjing as the storms of the century moved in. Finally, we want to thank my mom for shlepping our stuff around China, for being a good sport and, in the process, for becoming Jie-Jie's one and only 'LAO-LAO'.

And for our darling Jie-Jie.... if one day, when you read the pages of this journal, you feel even 10% of the love and joy we've felt over these past two months, keeping it will have been truly worthwhile.

With Eva we became parents. With Jie-Jie we become a family.