Three years ago today I met my beautiful daughter. I've told the story a hundred times. It was without exception the most emotionally intense moment of my life.
The images and emotions of that day are seared forever into my memory...
Traveling for 36 hours clutching a blurry cell phone picture and praying harder than I've ever prayed before that the child in the picture would be there when we arrived.
The wait at Pizza Blues to be allowed to go to the orphanage and the fear something had gone terribly wrong. The mad dash to car when we were told to come to the baby house.
The thick and pungent smell and the oppressive heat of the baby house.
Then finally a little girl, so much smaller than she should be, wearing a pale yellow dress party dress, placed atop a chair... fighting back silent tears.
The realization that SHE was OURS followed by a tunneling effect as everything, everyone, in the room faded away... leaving only her, our daughter, in a glow of light.
Tears of relief and joy.
Love at first sight.
Thirty minutes alone with her in a coat room, pictures for court, forgetting the video camera, the abrupt end to our visit and instructions to bring back pampers.
Laying in bed with my husband, jet lagged, exhausted, unable to sleep. Looking at pictures of our daughter on the camera, zooming in on her nose, her eyes, the chub of her cheek.
A deep appreciation that we were the luckiest parents in the world.
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| the referral photo I clutched for more than 6,000 miles |
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| jet lagged, tear stained and blessed...poor Bee at 2 she was the size of a 10 month old. She wanted to be held but clearly had no experience with being cuddled. It took many weeks before the little girl you see here, so traumatized by her first 24 months, dared to trust us. |
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| And our thriving, vivacious, gorgeous daughter today...still her mother's dream come true. |
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