Getting There

Step One - Leaving Baltimore

This morning went fairly smoothly all things considered.  I had told the girls last night that they could come to the airport to drop me off if they wanted to, but it was their choice to come or not.  I did explain that we were not going to have any tantrums, drama or crying scenes in the car on the way so I asked them to consider that when making their decision.  Jolene immediately said, “And that is why I am not going to go,” but when I woke her up this morning she jumped out of bed to get ready for the ride.  Sophie was actually downstairs eating breakfast (with my parents) before I was so there was no question there.  Well, one question, would she come in from playing in the backyard in time to go?  And yes, I’m talking about 6:45 this morning – sorry neighbors.  We had to wake Ellie up so she could come along, but I knew she would “I go,” as soon as the car was mentioned.  She was just happy to get to go in her pajamas.  And then there was Becca.  Becca is the one having the hardest time with me going away so I wasn’t sure which way she would fall.  When she first came downstairs she just wanted to stand next to me and snuggle, and she told me she didn’t want to go to the airport.  That was fine, I know she is really sad already missing Daddy and now knowing she’ll miss me.  When I started taking my suitcases out to the car though she suddenly changed her mind and decided she wanted to come.  So… at 7 o’clock all seven of us (the girls, my parents and I) piled into the car with my BIG suitcase, little suitcase and bursting at the seams backpack and headed off to find Delta at the Baltimore-Washington airport.

And, now, here I am.  Sitting on the floor a stone’s throw away from gate C-14 waiting for my delayed flight to board.  Katie is also sitting at an airport gate waiting for the same.  Well, not for a delayed flight, but you know what I mean.  Her flight will most likely take off before mine at this rate, but that is okay.  We will soon be in Atlanta together ready to take on the world – or at least a really long international flight to the other side of it.  And this might be a good time to interject how thankful I am that my loving husband added texting to my phone when he shut his off before leaving the country.  I’ve never been much of a texter, but it sure is making this waiting time go faster to sit here and send silly messages back and forth with Katie rather than stare at all the other bored waiting-to-board people.  Not to mention I felt so much better breaking into my chocolate stash at 8:25 in the morning after asking Katie if it was too early to start and getting the thumbs up.  Someone warn Seattle, I’m going to need a refill before I board that 12 hour flight. 

Step Two - Vent When Necessary

Would it be wrong of me to punch the flight attendant in the nose on the way off the plane?  You know, the one that decided she needed to make snide comments about me, the very excited-anxious-to-get-going-no-you-may-not-check-my-carry-on-filled-with-adoption-agency/itinerary-paperwork-suitcase-all-the-way-through-to-Beijing passenger?  I mean, really?  It is not my fault that your airline seated me in boarding zone 4 so three-quarters of the plane boarded before me.  Nor is it my fault that your airline boarding gate attendant felt he needed to check my visa for a third time thus making me board amidst the last ten bodies of the final boarding zone.  And it is not my fault that my carry-on now had no overhead bin space left for it.  And it certainly is not my fault that the boarding gate attendant’s only two solutions to my dilemma were to 1 – check my homeless carry-on all the way through to Beijing with no option of actually getting it back in an hour when I land in Atlanta, or 2 – take the next flight. 

Now, I will admit, it probably is my fault that I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning last night and thus tiredly did not respond well to the previous two options and thus appeared on the verge of tears while being adamant about my adoption paperwork staying in the cabin of this plan on this flight, but can you really blame me?  Did you really need to make patronizing comments about my having a conniption fit?  I just don’t understand why it was so easy for the other flight attendant present to listen to my plea and make space for my bag in the empty closet two steps away. 

So, I ask again.  Would it be wrong of me to punch the fight attendant in the nose on my way out?  Well, yes.  Yes it would.  So, of course, I would never do such a thing.  Instead I will give you a smile and speak most politely to you when you offer me a beverage and enjoy the shocked look on your face when you realize I am not a raving lunatic after all and perhaps I was not the only one responding to the carry-on situation a bit outside the necessary parameters of calm, rational public interaction.  And besides, what’s a little snideness on your part among the rest of my day?  For as my good friend Felicity stated recently, who cares?  I’m on my way to get Jack!

Step Three - Arriving in Beijing!

Good morning, USA!  It is right now 8:45 at my Maryland home and I am sure my children are already up and tiring my parents out.  We, however, are still traveling, but getting very close to our destination.  An hour out of Beijing!  Hurray! 

So far everything has gone smoothly so unless we are attacked by flying porcupines or something in the next 50 minutes of airtime I’m pretty sure we will arrive at PEK in good shape.  I met up with Katie in Atlanta and we’ve been laughing a good deal ever since.  If you have never visited the Atlanta airport you are most definitely missing out as we were privy to such exciting things as a flying ear of corn, ballroom dresses, an elephant foot table and a few voodoo dolls.  Our favorite quote from that part of our trip, however, must be the woman shouting from the train, “Did anyone lose a raccoon?”  I’m telling you, if you have never been there, you are missing out.

Well, from Atlanta we headed off to Seattle.  This flight also went smoothly and about halfway through we met another family from our same travel group – thanks to my Show Hope t-shirt.  I had told Katie in Atlanta that it is fairly entertaining to watch people as they read my shirt as it sports the SH tree logo superimposed with the word “adopted” in large white letters.  It is just fun to watch faces go from quizzical to interested to understanding as they read the front of the shirt and then process the James 1:27 scripture printed on the back.  I have never been one to “advertise” things via my clothing, but this shirt is great! 

Anyway, I digress… meeting another family.  Well, as I was walking down the aisle of the plane I saw what I thought was another shirt-interested passerby, but it actually turned out to be Doug Howard who is also traveling with his wife (Kara) and two daughters (Dara & Delana) to the Henan province with us.  He was not trying to register the meaning of my shirt, he was debating if he should talk to me as he is familiar with Show Hope and wondered if I might be part of another adoptive family.

Well, luckily, he did talk to me as I walked past again and we quickly determined we are all going to the same place.  Yeah!  During our three hours at the Seattle airport Katie and I had some time to sit and chat with the Howards and in one more big God moment we learned that the Howards are from Murfreesboro, TN, and live just about 1.5 miles from our old house.  Now I’ve said that Show Hope is a small world thing before, but that is just CRAZY!

So, anyway, here we are.  Into our final hour of a 12 hour (with almost no in-flight entertainment) flight and we are already not alone.  Katie and I are getting along famously, but neither one of us ever had any doubts about that.  It was fun, however, to watch Doug’s face when he realized that we had just met each other for the first time in person at the Atlanta airport.  A little bit nuts, maybe.  But it’s all looking great right now.  I don’t know when I will actually get this posted to the blog page, but hopefully it will be very soon.

Thanks for praying – it is wonderful to know that we are not going on this journey alone.  1 hour to Beijing – 4 days to Jack!