Saturday,
May 22, 2010
MEDICAL AND TB TEST FOR EMMA LYNN AND
DADDY MOMMA . . .
I woke up around 6 am even though I didn’t fall asleep until
well after 12…we both got ready and waited for Emma to wake up.
We headed down to breakfast and what a treat it was…rice
noodles, dumplings, breads, cold cuts, cheeses…you name it …it
was there. With full tummies we met our group at the glass
doors. Then things went south for me…during bank hours the hotel
will not exchange money and our itinerary said we needed to have
2000 RMB for shots and 600 RMB per person for our petty cash
fund….found this out upon check in last night…so off to the bank
for me…guess what…the bank only will exchange travelers checks
M-F during bank hours no weekends…..love it! So thank goodness I
had a small bundle of unmarked 100 bills…up to the room and back
to the bank, take a number get in line and wait…I feel a
meltdown coming on and this time it is not from baby, but Momma.
The next teller came available and I move up…then the teller
tries to explain to me in Chinese it is not my turn, but nobody
else is waiting to my knowledge…finally he points and I see the
peanut gallery…I want to scream…banking in a foreign country,
not fun. So I gather all my stuff thru the little pass thru hole
and wait, holding back my tears that represent I suppose maybe
hormones, but a lot of just ummmmmmm frustration, So finally the
“electronic” number system shows 105 my number and I move up. I
wanted to video this so badly, but thought better of a trip to
Chinese jail…the gal nearly takes a magnifying glass to my
unmarked money scrutinizing it front and back and I am sweating
bullets for various reasons…mainly because it is 1 million
degrees and 1000 percent humidity…don’t forget your deodorant
here folks or you will make no friends nada, nil. So then after
my bills pass the test she begins to fill out what seems to be
mounds of paper and finally my signature was needed and I have
my RMB…this whole fiasco took 45 minutes. I turn around and see
someone I know, not from blog land, not from this trip, but
actually someone I know….we embrace and I sense we both just
want to sob…neither of us do…1 tear escapes my eye and I see his
eyes well up…our friend David from home who does our taxes and
you can’t even imagine how good it is to see a friend in a
foreign land who is here to do the same thing you are and
UNDERSTANDS! After our what seemed like a lifetime embrace we
catch up and laugh and we both know everything will be alright!
Meanwhile this has all taken so long my guide shows up worried
perhaps the bank has swallowed me up. Now off to the medical…it
gets better.
I met back up with our group of 2 families and we begin our walk
to the medical…stopping off or VISA photos…they had to nearly
wrestle our tiger Emma to peel her off Daddy to take her photo,
he sat next to her touching her for the photo…took I think 5
tries. Then we began the walk…greeted by Jordan who has Jordan’s
place really nice man with a shop. Then what was actually a nice
sidewalk turned to rocky dirt, then holes and you can’t even
imagine what we walked thru…I really thought I would need the
medical clinic upon arriving from an accident…could this be the
only way to arrive there…mud, holes, falling debris….only here.
We arrive at the medical with body to body people, babies
crying, hot sweaty Mommies and Daddy’s…..me oh my took us back
to 2 years ago with Ellie Lu. Of course then I was holding a
baby…now I can only dream of holding my baby…she is glued to
Daddy and I am the picture taker…form filler outer…oh and snack
provider at this point. We again see our friend David and oh my
people come up to me and say “your on my adoption website aren’t
you…I have been following you”….now that was pretty funny and
cool. Our guide Phoebe figured out how to work the system and
very quickly helped us navigate all 3 stations…Emma weighed in
at ….22.8 pounds; they didn’t tell us her height. While waiting
for shots, Emma decided she needed to potty so Mel was inducted
into the squatty potty hall of fame, can you even imagine taking
a teeny tiny 2 year old to a hole in the floor to
potty…apparently she did brilliantly and I must say Mel is also
doing brilliantly in his new role as the “Daddy Momma”, more on
this later.
So then we waited for shots…she had to get 5 plus the TB skin
test…I found myself very angry over the fact that this past year
while she has been waiting on us…she was not caught up on her
shots…therefore she gets to have 5 in one day…no they won’t let
Mommas take shots for their babies either I asked…so Mel got
inducted…his first time holding a child for shots…he said “honey
don’t look you might pass out”. Hello husband of mine who do you
think has held Ellie Lu thru all her shots…so far I have not
passed out. I have to say seeing and hearing Emma cry thru those
5 shots was excruciating…and seems very pointless…this child has
been ripped from what she knows and just as she is somewhat
beginning to trust us…you shoot her up with 5 shots….I will be
getting very focal on this subject upon my return home….the good
news within 45 minutes she had stopped crying and didn’t seem to
have a reaction. Finally time to leave…not soon enough in my
book.
I stopped by Lucy’s on the way back to the swan and pick up
lunch. chicken quesedias for all and we gobble them down in the
room and then I had to go to the paperwork meeting. Paperwork
meeting fairly non eventful and then I went on a recon shopping
adventure. First stop…A Gift from China, then Sherry’s Place,
then Susan’s then a few more shops then back to the hotel to see
if Daddy Momma and Emma are awake…we then had dinner at Lucy’s
our first time actually eating in either trip. Mel had chicken
pasta alfredo and I had a club sandwich…found out the ice there
is okay and they have ice tea so had my first cup of ice tea
with lemon…it was nice. We stopped briefly at that 7 eleven for
drinks and then back to the hotel to prepare our peanut for bed.
She likes me better today..still not letting me hold her, but
plays and kids with me and wants me to get her food and will let
me give her food too. She also likes feeding me…I am so tired I
can’t even think straight…tomorrow church at 10:45 and then
shopping Jade and Pearl, Carefore for groceries and more
shopping on the island….
So you ask what is a Daddy Momma…it is when you have a child
that clings to her father as if the father is the Mother…and so
the mother is displaced to all the “helper roles”…luggage
slepper, food gatherer and provider, clothes packer, cleaner,
toy picker upper, Daddy Momma feeder, Daddy Momma dresser, money
exchanger, paper filler outer and the list goes on. After awhile
the Mother gets resentful and threatens to boycott all her
helper roles if Daddy Momma and baby don’t love up to her. Then
the Momma realizes…she has it pretty good. If the baby were
attaching to her…she might still have all these helper roles as
well as the Momma Momma role. When I explained this logic to Mel
he was not too amused I think he was as tired of the Daddy Momma
role as I was of the helper role…we are both hoping for a
reversal soon….it will be good for us all. |
Early Morning
Slumber
Chocolate cake for breakfast...that's the ticket
Walking thru construction on the way to medical
Families, families and more families
The exam
Weighing in at 22.8 pounds
Mike, Sharon,Jacob and Phin
Faces from home
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