A November Weekend - Quotes from Mary Poppins and Barney Stinson

We over-schedule.  We are on the go Monday through Friday and lately, it has seemed like weekends are non-stop.  Every time Sunday night rolls around again, Hubs looks at me and says “Really?  Already?” He might use a more swear words but you get the idea. 

We scheduled light this weekend.   As Mary Poppins would say our Friday through Sunday was “practically perfect in every way.”  Although I envisioned (still wish for) a pajama weekend with no leaving the house, we did end up doing a couple of things.  Our pace was more relaxed and less frenzied and as a result, I begin the new week feeling rested. 

Saturday morning, we did a Turkey Trot 5K.  Sissy  and I planned on this as a mother/daughter event, but at the last minute, we decided to break in the double-wide and take the whole gang.   

 

 

The boys loved the experience and Hubs did a great job pushing them (that thing is no joke).  They don’t look so thrilled in the pictures but there were a lot of dogs about and Peanut is still pretty leery of 4-legged beasties.  We all finished in about thirty-two minutes…Hubs and the boys just slightly behind Sissy and I.  This was her first time running the entire distance without walk breaks so we kept it pretty slow and steady, but we all had a great time.  We didn’t win a turkey but we did won pie.  Who doesn’t like pie? 

On Sunday, we went to a party put on by CACH (Children Adopted from China).  It is a British organization that is broken up in to local chapters and I just learned of its existence recently.  There is an organization like this in the US called Families with Children from China (FCC) that I’ve heard my other adoption friends in talk about.   

The party was lovely and the experience was something I didn’t know I needed until I experienced it.  There were about 15 other families gathered. All of these families looked like mine (“older” parents with Asian kids).  There was the initial awkwardness of “gee, I don’t know anyone” but that was quickly remedied.  I’m not exactly a “work the room” social butterfly kind of girl, and frankly, that’s impossible while chasing two three year olds who are hyped up on candy, but I did leave with two new friends and some play dates in our future. 

The boys LOVED this nice lady who organized the "pass the parcel" game.  I later learned she had a huge bag of candy.  

The little storybook and jar of play dough brought pure joy to a certain boy.

 

Instead of the “why China” and the “what happened to their real parents” questions I would have gotten at any other children’s party there was “what province are they from” and “how long have your boys been home”.  It had a totally different flavor, and despite the fact that we were in a room full of Brits we’d never met before, I felt we belonged. 

We’ve been knee deep in adoption stuff for almost three years.  Since May of 2011, we have either been pursuing an adoption or muddling through post adoption paperwork (or both).  Now most of Kyle’s post adoption processing is behind us.  Through this process, the only connections we’ve had to families that are made up like ours is through online forums or while in China on our actual adoption travels.  Our “online adoption friends” have been and continue to be an awesome source of information and support.  Our friends we traveled with in China (both trips) are wonderful people and I’m happy that those connections endure.  There is nothing like real life, real time connection with other “China families”. 

We gravitate toward people who we have stuff in common with.  While I have other interests outside adoption, adoption has been my focus for a long time.  I didn’t know I needed to be in a room with other families that were “like mine” until I was in that room.  It was a fun party.  There were crafts, snacks, entertainment, and chit chat. But as I looked around and saw all of these beautiful children dressed in their party clothes, happily doing the stuff kids do at parties, I got a little emotional.  These kids were all meticulously clean (except mine who had cake in their hair), pink-cheeked and well fed.  They were all loved and wanted.  I didn’t go too far in to my thoughts to ponder the beginnings of these children, but where they sat this past Sunday is a far cry from where they started in life. 

I was not the only parent in that room that had those thoughts.  I am certain of it.  This wasn’t something that was acknowledged or discussed.  Some things we just know.  

The pictures don’t capture the look on Peanut’s face when he saw Santa for the first time.  I wish I could have caught his expression when he made the connection between Santa and presents.  I wish I could have captured the “aha” moment when he realized that all of the children were getting a little present and the little light bulb that turned on when he knew he was included.  In the words of Barney Stinson, Christmas this year is going to be LEGENDARY. 

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