Maggie Day - In Words

It seems impossible to find the words to explain how incredibly amazing today was.  It was everything I'd been dreaming of for the last six years and more.  My heart is full.

We were scheduled to meet in the lobby of our hotel at 2pm today.  That left A LOT of free time to kill.  I felt great when I got up this morning - very calm and just anticipating what was to come.  As I sat enjoying my coffee it dawned on me that at that very moment my daughter was being taken from everything she had ever known, being put into a car for the very first time in her life and being driven six hours for a meeting and a hand off that she knew nothing about.  And it made me so sad.  So, very, very sad for all the changes that were about to happen in her life.  So I cried.

We went to the pool, went for a walk, wandered the hotel, packed a bag of all the things she might need when we met, showered and still had a ton of time to kill before our 2pm meeting.  It was as if time was standing still and it was pure torture.

Finally it was 2pm.  We met the other family in our group and waited for our China Team to arrive.  As soon as I saw the other mom to be, Sheila, I lost it again.  She had been through this before with her beautiful daughter Hannah, now almost 10 and she just hugged me, told me everything I was feeling was normal and that once I saw Maggie and had her in my arms everything would be OK.  She was so right!!

We boarded the bus and took a short drive to the Civil Affairs Office of Guangdong Province.  It was crowded with other many other families - some had just received their children and some were still waiting.  It was hot, babies were screaming, mama's and daddy's were crying and it seemed like complete chaos.  We were told that our babies were NOT there yet.  After a short wait we were told that they had just arrived and would be coming up in the elevator any minute.  Sheila's family and I both decided that we did not want to see the babies until they were presented to us so we went around the corner to wait.  Katie waited by the elevators and came running back and said three babies just arrived and one of them was definitely Maggie.  She wasn't crying and still had crazy hair!!!

Before I knew it, my name was called and I was handed the most beautiful child I had ever seen.  She didn't cry (at first) and just looked at me with her big brown eyes.  She is a total thumb sucker and switches from one thumb to the other in the blink of an eye.   I was presented with a small photo album from her orphanage director and although there are not many photos it was a priceless gift that we will cherish forever.  I was also given back the disposable camera I sent as well as a red leather bound book of questions that I had sent and asked her caretakers to answer for me.  They answered them all and I cannot wait to have it translated!!!  I was able to spend a few minutes with the orphanage director and a nanny and get several other questions about her schedule, feedings, etc. answered.   More tears were shed - again, mostly by me - and before I knew it we were on the bus back to our hotel.

My poor baby girl was so scared and the look on her face was just pitiful.  She was trying to be so brave but every now and then a small whimper would escape and big crocodile tears would fall.  It broke my heart.  All I wanted was for her to know how much I loved her already and that soon enough everything would be OK.

I gave her a quick bath and tried to feed her a bottle but she didn't want any part of that.  She softly cried herself to sleep and was out for about an hour.   She woke up with a panicked look as she realized that we were still there and that she was still in this strange place.  It was heart wrenching and more tears were shed - once again, mostly by me.

We met the group for dinner and our guide Martin was kind enough to get a birthday cake delivered to celebrate my girl's first birthday.  She had a good time squishing the cake and icing through her fingers but not a drop passed through her lips.  At one year old my baby has never had solid food and didn't know what to make of it.  I'm sure that will change soon enough as she is a tiny little thing and needs to be fattened up!!

After skyping with family back home we were all exhausted and ready for bed.  Maggie was very restless and cried out several times in her sleep but she never fully woke up.  I on the other hand didn't sleep a wink.  I spent half the night just staring at the beautiful child I now call my daughter and the other half just whispering in her ears how much I loved her.  What an amazing and beautiful gift I have been given!

Best. Day. Ever.