Home And All Those Things

An armload of Miaya for Cousin Nora

We did make it home in good order, the trip on Amtrak was good, although for the last two hours of the trip we were ready for it to just be over. A chocolate break brought things back into perspective, I guess low blood sugar does have an effect on your attitude. Kim's Aunt Carol and Uncle Kenny, and her teacher friend Belinda and Belinda's mom and sister met us at the station in Creston. Miaya scored big points with Aunt Carol when she went right into her arms. We made a quick stop at WalMart for necessities, grabbed late supper at McD's drive-through and hit the road for the last 20 miles home. A big thanks to Belinda who looked after the house, cats, and dog while we were gone.

We got to see some of the flooding in the Burlington, Iowa / Gulfport, Illinois area where the train crossed the Mississippi River. It will be a long time before all the water drains away, and many people can return to see what can be salvaged of their homes, farms, and businesses.

I guess I should step back a little bit and tell about our arrival in Champaign, After gathering our planeside luggage, we paused in the gate waiting area to change Miaya into her party dress that cousin Kassondra picked out for her over two years ago, change her diaper, and collect our wits a little before heading out to meet some of Michael's family.

We rounded the corner and there, out past the security point was Michael's mother, sister Laurie, and nieces Kassondra and Amy. AND, a woman with a very large video camera! It was Checky Beckford, a reporter from Channel 15 TV in Champaign. Michael's sister Laurie had called the station about our story, gave her the address for this blog, and she decided to do a story about us, our Illinois connection, and a little about international adoption in general and some about adopting from China specifically. She did a great job on the story, got the facts straight, and put together a nice piece. We were the second or third story on the 1o o'clock news. It took a lot of concentration to sound coherent after being up around 26 hours at that point, and spending nearly 20 hours on airplanes! But, we pulled it off.

There was also the little fact that we were about an hour late leaving Guangzhou on the flight to Tokyo! First, they had to work on the air conditioning on the plane, then there was a line of severe storms to the north that prevented flights from taking off for a while. With only a ONE hour layover in Tokyo, we knew we were in trouble! On arrival in Tokyo, we had to wait for space at the gate, and we were getting really worried. Then came the announcement over the PA that would all passengers NOT connecting to Northwest flight 26 to Detroit (we were to be on NW 26) please remain seated to allow those who were to exit quickly -- yeah, that REALLY worked!! After we finally got off the plane, there were NW people with signs directing us directly to gate 22 as they were holding the plane for us! It was a mad dash up and around and across, frustrated by the security checkpoint, but we made it. Less than 10 minutes after we stepped on board, the doors were closed and the plane was being pushed back from the gate. Now we were free to wonder for the next 11 hours if our luggage had made the flight as well. The appearance of our gate-checked stroller was a good indication when we arrived in Detroit. (yes, all four suitcases made it) At the security check in Tokyo, they confiscated Kim's sewing scissors (short, blunt nose), the same ones that had made it through at least 5 other security checks including the same checkpoint in Tokyo. It had been a bit worrisome in Guangzhou when there was a special security point for NW 28 passengers (our flight), and another security check on the jetway just before boarding.

Irene, Miaya's possible cribmate, and her father and godfather ("Two Men And A Baby" as we referred to them) were also on flight 26 to Detroit. The two girls must have been close, because whenever Irene cried or fussed on the long flight, Miaya would turn around to look for her (three rows back), yet would ignore the cries of any other baby on the plane.

The first week home is kind of a blur, Miaya was kind enough the share her cold with Michael, and he was really out of it for several days. That plus trying to get a schedule established, and getting Miaya changed from China time to Iowa time made for a very sleepless and exhausting week. Things are getting better, Miaya is going to sleep easier, and earlier now, and we are beginning to recover. We felt very helpless, clueless, and inadequate on those long sleepless nights as we tried to convince an overtired toddler that it really was time to sleep. It really did not help on the occasions when, about an hour after she went to sleep, she would be standing in the crib screaming, so mom or dad would go to comfort her, and at the first touch, she would giggle and laugh! A great little actress this one is.