Wednesday,
December 10, 2008
Well, we made it. 3 plane rides, 2 layovers, 1 much-needed
upgrade to Business Class (the 14-hour flight from Beijing to
Chicago) and 24 hours later, we arrived in Philadelphia, where
Pop-pop was waiting to meet his new granddaughter. As you can
imagine, if you know Ted, Georgia took to him immediately. Like,
he could be the original Baby Whisperer. If not him, then
certainly Georgia's OTHER grandfather, newly christened "Poppy,"
who after 40 years of delivering babies seems to have quite a
way with them. Georgia has become instantly enchanted with both
of the men in her life. And of course, she remains absolutely
enamored of her Mom-mom, who seems to be the only person who
causes Georgia to burst into spontaneous laughter. Sure, my
sister and I do that all the time, but that's just mean. Georgia
radiates adoration when Mom-mom walks into the room. And of
course, it's reciprocal.
Saying goodbye to Ayi Nicole in the Chicago airport was very
hard for all of us. Georgia ADORES her, and our trip was such an
incredible, intimate, stressful, wonderful experience that it's
never been harder to say goodbye. There were a lot of tears when
we took leave of each other. Georgia might have been the only
one of us not crying, but she definitely misses her #1 auntie,
and always will.
Since arriving home, I've wiped that smug grin off my face, the
one that for the last 5 years or so has been telling all of my
friends and family how I've always wanted to be a mother and
knew it would be hard to do alone but I'd survive. Right now I'm
not sure I will. Okay, I will, but at least once every few hours
I question my abilities, my skills, and my sanity. Georgia has
been a champ, but the time change, the jet lag, and the new
environment have hit her hard - we haven't been able to get on a
schedule (which all of my mommy friends are probably asking
about, but I'm trying - I swear!) and sleeping through an hour,
let alone a night, is slow going. I know this is my hazing
period, and I do have moments of clarity when I realize that
soon her babyhood will be a distant memory and I'll be longing
for these long nights of bonding... Until then, please don't
think I've dropped off the face of the earth - I will resurface
as soon as I can, undoubtedly with bigger bags under my eyes and
more love in my heart than the last time you saw me.
Thanks to all of you for your incredible support through
Georgia's amazing journey home. I can't wait to introduce her to
each and every one of you. |
Gorgeous (but DIRTY) after 24 hours of travel
Meeting Pop-pop!
Mommy falling asleep with Georgia
|
