It’s been a crazy long, and stressful day! We went to the Civil Affairs Office this afternoon to finally be united with Mia. The office was chaotic – approximately 40 families were there picking up their new children. So many feelings were swirling around that room – overwhelming joy, anxiety, and naturally, great despair. The reactions of the babies and children were as different as the children themselves. Most were crying, some seemed happy, and several just looked shocked. We knew Mia, as soon as she and her caregivers walked through the doorway. She recognized us too, and was carrying the little photo book we had sent to her several months ago. The toughest part of the day came when her caregiver walked away from us. Mia started screaming, anger and sadness pouring from her little soul, as she cried out “Don’t go, don’t go!” She rejected me immediately, didn’t want to have anything to do with me – but fortunately, she was ok with Sydney, and she cuddled with Chris very soon after we got her settled down. As difficult and heartbreaking as this was to witness and experience (and let me tell you, this was ROUGH!) I kept hearing words from my teacher whispering in my heart, that there is always joy alongside pain. Her despair today was not only natural and expected, but an indicator of the strong bonds she had made with the only people she has ever known as family. It is obvious that she has been loved. Once we returned to our hotel room, we broke out the coloring books and crayons, looking for a calm activity that would allow her to warm up to us slowly. In no time, she was drawing, coloring, writing, and showing us her first tentative smiles. As I’m writing this, it’s a few hours later, and she is amazing us with her exuberance, gentle quick hugs, and easy laughter. We know that there will be more times of grief to come, as she processes this transition and adjusts, but for now, we are all enjoying the blessing of joy before us. And Sydney says: I was so excited to meet Mia, I could not wait. Today, is the BEST day of my life! When I saw her crying so hard, I felt bad that she had to leave the only momma she had ever known. Once we got back to the hotel and started playing, she got happy, and I’m glad of that.
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Lisa LynchLisa is a world traveling mom that took the ultimate adventure Archives
December 2012
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