(One year ago this month, Pa and I made the trek to China to adopt our sweet "Sister Susie." I am going to take the first seventeen days of February 2008 to revisit that trip. Hop in for the ride!)
We missed our flight.
And that's how our trip began.
Of course it began several months before that. Twenty-two months, in fact. Nearly two years of thinking, paperworking, preparing. Waiting for our girl.
We arrived at the airport plenty early, of course. We are Dorks! Total Dorks!
And here's our family of four, as we wait, MUCH TOO LONG, before heading to security, where our paperwork caused a bit of a snafu:
We missed our flight.
And that's how our trip began.
Of course it began several months before that. Twenty-two months, in fact. Nearly two years of thinking, paperworking, preparing. Waiting for our girl.
We arrived at the airport plenty early, of course. We are Dorks! Total Dorks!
And here's our family of four, as we wait, MUCH TOO LONG, before heading to security, where our paperwork caused a bit of a snafu:
As I was retying my shoes and shoving things back in my bag, I heard our names called over the loudspeaker. "Last call for Ma and Pa Losersofthecentury! Plane's-a-leavin'!"
Or something like that.
And all my running and begging and heavy breathing did nothing to convince the airline personnel to Let.Us.On.That.Plane. But you can rest assured that I gave the pilot--Who I Could See From The Window--the most evil Mama-Bear-Separated-From-Her-Cub kind of glare.
Or something like that.
And all my running and begging and heavy breathing did nothing to convince the airline personnel to Let.Us.On.That.Plane. But you can rest assured that I gave the pilot--Who I Could See From The Window--the most evil Mama-Bear-Separated-From-Her-Cub kind of glare.
It was not effective.
But it made me feel better.
And oh, what an adrenaline rush.
And crash.
I was already exhausted, and we hadn't even stepped on the plane.
But, after many tears and phone calls and chats with Our Friendly Airline Personnel, we were rerouted and would indeed arrive in China.
Just a day later than expected.
Yeah, Mama Bear and Her Cubs, blah blah blah blah blah.
But we DID board a plane, as you can see here (Fort Wayne, Indiana to Chicago, Illinois):
And here (Chicago, Illinois to Los Angeles, California):
And that was the day that was--as we headed off to China, with all its ups and downs.
And I mean that figuratively AND literally, of course.
More laughter, tears, and dorkiness to come. Stay tuned.
(Read the whole China story.)
