In China
December 4  |  December 5  |  December 6  |  December 7  |  December 8  |  December 9  |
December 10  |  December 11  |  December 12  |  December 13  |  December 14  |  December 15  |  December 16  |  December 17

OUR ITINERARY December 3 Flight from Cincinnati to Chicago and Chicago to Beijing I hate to fly. While waiting to board the 14 hour flight to Beijing, I will remember this and begin desperately and unsuccessfully thinking about any scenarios that would allow me to drive to China. Approximately 3 minutes into the flight, I will seriously reconsider my stand on excessive alcohol consumption. December 4 Arrive in Beijing Upon arrival, I will begin apologizing to Anne for how rude I was during the previous 14 hours. I will also begin worrying about the 14 hour flight home… December 5 Visit New Day Foster Home in Beijing New Day is a ministry to Special Needs orphans in China. They run a foster home in Beijing, and we sponsor some kids there. We recently learned that they provided formula for Will during his first year, so we have an even greater and much more personal appreciation for what they are doing. December 6 Fly to Taiyuan City We have been told that air pollution is a major issue in Taiyuan City. One visitor described the air as “like walking into a coal mine.” Combined with Anne’s asthma, this feels like a very bad idea. The only worse idea would be to leave Will there. December 7 Meet Will! This is one those “life” days. Sitting in a room waiting for someone to introduce you to your son is a truly surreal experience, and we have no idea what to really expect. We don’t know whether Will will cry or not. I do know that I will. In addition to the usual mix of tears and smiles (hopefully), there will also be a fair amount of time spent with one of us making noises behind Will to see if the “one ear working fine” translation from his medical records is correct. December 8 Visit Civil Affairs building to complete the adoption registration and notarization The 4,000 notarized signatures and papers over the last 2 years were all about getting to the point where someone says “Sign here” in Chinese. At that point, months and months of prayers are answered and Will legally becomes our son. It is likely that he will not be as happy about this fact as we are. Legally becoming his father and emotionally earning the right to be his “dad” are two very different milestones on this journey. December 9-10 Tour scenic Taiyuan City This date should say “Bring Will home!” Unfortunately, we have more than a week of additional paperwork to process. Hopefully, these are the days when the tears begin to be replaced by some smiles and some laughter. For parents excited about their youngest but desperately missing the three at home, this is the beginning of a long week of realizing that your family is not complete until they are all together. December 11 Pick up Will’s papers and passport. Fly to Guangzhou. Go have fries at Lucy’s. Guangzhou is a major milestone in any adoption trip. The hotel is in a nice area, and there is a restaurant named Lucy’s that serves American food within walking distance. If Mia’s trip is any indication, we will be walking the 2 blocks to Lucy’s on several occasions over the next 5 days. December 12 Will’s medical examination This is another “hold your breath” moment where you wait to see if they identify anything unusual during the medical examination. (Other than the inherently “unusual” aspects of two Americans standing in a Chinese clinic trying to parent a child that they just met while attempting to capture any diagnoses from a doctor who is talking in Chinese.) December 13-15 Tours During Mia’s trip, we went on all of the recommended tours. It felt like they had specially designed these tours to be as un-friendly to children as possible. (What 3 year old would want to miss the museum of broken Chinese pottery?) We will be hoping for more child-friendly tours (e.g. parks, zoo, etc.) Otherwise, we will be skipping the group tours and going to Lucy’s for lunch again. December 16 Group oath at the US consulate There is something very cool about the shared experience of 100 families coming to the end of a long journey together. There is also something exciting about being in “America”… even if this particular slice of America is in the middle of Guangzhou. December 17 Receive Will’s Visa Will receives his Visa this day. I hope it comes with one of those cash-back rewards or mileage programs… December 18 Fly to Beijing then to Chicago then to Cincinnati. Recall hatred of flying. Recall that the only thing I hate more than 14 hour international flights is 14 hour international flights in Coach with a child who does not speak English or necessarily like me. (Upside, future P&G trips in Business Class without a toddler will seem much less daunting.) The only person more miserable than me is Anne – who will be trying to comfort two crying babies during the flight. December 19 Come to the striking realization that we have four children Challenge #1: Wake up. Try to convince body that it is AM not PM. Challenge #2: Three children need parents that they have not had for the last 2.5 weeks. Challenge #3: Newest child has no clue what is happening. Challenge #4: On a few hours of sleep and wicked jet lag, neither do we.

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