The day dragged on so slowly. And while I was 90% homesick and desperate to get this thing moving; the rest of me wanted to stay a little bit longer. Not for me, for Kate. I realized that in a few hours we were taking her away from the only home she had ever known - from the people who had become her family and who knew and loved her. I felt an enormous ache as the clock ticked along.
As night fell on the city Jeff and I gathered up our luggage and headed for the door. We came down to the living room of the guest house and were greeted by Kate's nannies, the house staff, and the few kids who were awaiting embassy appointments.
This was their goodbye moment.
Kate's nanny, Sara, stayed near the door. I could tell she was in agony and really just wanted to leave but all I wanted to do was comfort her - so I went over to her, grabbed her in my arms and held her tight. I handed her Kate but Kate was so squirmy the moment was brief.
Then, the room exploded with song, dance, and laughter. The kids were clapping and playing with Kate. Kate came alive - it was the first time we had seen her our of her shell. She had been so miserable with us while we were there, constantly crying, and fussing over everything we did. We were pretty drained and discouraged as we prepared to leave ET so seeing her behavior shift filled my heart with hope as I saw the potential in her.
After about 30 minutes or so of this everyone kissed her and went outside to say goodbye. I held the kids who were left tight and kissed all of their little round cheeks. As I let their bodies go, I whispered, "be brave, be strong, and always fight the darkness!" - my hands holding their hands like fists and swinging them wildly in the air! They laughed with tears in their eyes as they looked at my face. I loved theses kids and was so happy that they had families in the states just waiting for the call - but so sad that I would never see them again.
Then I found Sara again. I held her and together we both cried so hard. I thanked her over and over again for all the ways she loved my daughter, while she kissed my cheeks and said, "I love you" It was seriously one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. I had no idea how to leave, I felt frozen in sadness- we were all just so emotional.
Jeff stepped out, grabbed my hand, and together we headed for the airport - with Kate.
Addis is always crazy. Even in the dark of night. There are people everywhere, driving, walking, hanging out... It baffles me to this day as to what they are all doing.
We entered the airport and I felt so nervous.
Two white people with one black baby strapped to their body does not look so great to people of the muslim faith. They are pretty hostile toward westerners adopting their children. The airport was particularly full to the brim with muslim women and children heading out of town.
To say I was intimidated would be a serious understatement.
Once through security we got in line to go to our gate. I was standing there holding Kate, rocking side to side when a women in full burka got very close to my face and told me that what I was doing was bad and that Kate was not our baby. At first I had a hard time understanding her so I kept saying, "no she is our baby, we're taking her home just now!" Jeff sensed the tension that I failed to see and quickly grabbed my hand and led me away.
I was enraged. Jeff was enraged. But we quietly and quickly headed to our gate and sat down for a breather while Kate slept soundly on my chest. We realized that this little interaction - (people not liking, understanding, or just curious about our adoption) - may just be normal everywhere we go to some degree so we talked through a plan to properly handle it.
Fast forward 37 hours and we were walking into our house in Texas. Kate was awake but totally wrecked! While traveling home she managed to blow out two outfits, throw up all over me, snot, drool, and pee as well. Oh, and Jeff... He threw up a few times in there as well! Fun times!
We were home. Georgia and Jeff's parents were waiting for us when we walked through the door. It was after midnight. Our arrival seriously felt like a blurry dream. I remember Georgia being excited, reading Kate a book, Jeff's parents being in awe, and giving Kate a bath in the sink because she smelled like vomit, dirt, and poo.
We were home. We were a family. And everything was perfect.
And then day two happened.
