is going to manage the 3 hour flight to Beijing + 3 hour layover + 13
hour flight to DC + immigration + car ride home, not to mention
general adjustment to home life, is far outweighed by our desire to
start family life in earnest. We love the White Swan Hotel, but there
really is such a thing as too much breakfast buffet. Yes, you heard
it here first. No one should have "all you can eat" every morning --
"all you can eat" is not a challenge, after all.
Poor Emperor Darcy is fighting a cold and has been periodically called
"Emperor Snotty Pants" or "Emperor Darcy, Ruler of the Land of
Phlegm.". He has also developed an off-and-on case of hives -- heaven
knows if f he has a food allergy, or an environmental allergy, or if
it's related to the cold virus, or if it's just stress. Thanks to the
wonderful Doctor Jerry, we know that he is not in mortal peril and
have some instructions on what to do if the hives reappear in DC.
Doing his part, Darcy has been a trooper and for the most part has
remained in amazingly good spirits. Even when covered in hives, he
always seems to have energy to give the pretty White Swan staff
members a giggle and a flirtatious smile (Darcy loves the ladies).
On Sunday, we visited the Six Banyon Buddhist Temple, the biggest
Buddhist shrine in Guangdong province. On Monday, we hung out in the
hotel room while our facilitator delivered our paperwork to the
consulate. Getting the word that the consul had no additional
questions, Emperor Snotty Pants turned into Emperor Crazy Rooster,
threatening his subject with his chopsticks due to hi s cold-induced
ill humor. But, we all perservered and enjoyed a stroll around
lovely, tropical Shamian Island. And, of course, there has been lots
stackable cups play and cruising/walking interspersed between outings.
Today, we went to the consulate with 50 other families for the formal
oath (which completes the visa process for Darcy and the other
children - he becomes an American citizen upon having his Chinese
passport stamped at Dulles). It was another perfunctory offical
event, although during the oath I couldn't help but get chocked up,
Darcy in my arms, humming some strange tune and blabbering in my ear.
Today truly marks the end of our adoption paperchase (but don't get me
started on what's required to get him a US passport, birth
certificate, and Canadian citizenship!). At the end of the oath, as I
was doing my utmost to hold back the tears, everyone clapped and Darcy
cried "Mahmah," clapped his hands, and hugged me tight. Needless to
say, I was a goner at that point.
So, off to the airport tomorrow morning. Wish us luck - we will need
it. In just a little over a week, Darcy has settled into something of
an eating and sleeping routine, entirely incompatible with tomorrow's
travel plans. Sigh. When will they invent the Star Trek-esque
teletransporters? To hell with Jetson-esqye flying cars, get me a
teletransporter. I assure any enterprising inventor out there that
there's a huge market for teletransporters among adopting families
leaving China.
-- Laurelle
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