A Snuggle

I can’t remember having something in my life that I wanted so badly, knew I would eventually get, and yet had to wait for indefinitely. Maybe that’s why the snuggle today seemed so sweet. I could smell her, I could kiss her, I could lay with her…and I didn’t have to take her back. God has given us this precious gift, to care and to love for the rest of our lives. Wow!

And, it seemed so normal. It seemed so peaceful. It seemed so right. Effortless…. to love her. Effortless… to care for her.

We went to the care center this morning for the final farewell ceremony. It was a time for the nannies, and the other children to say good bye to the kids, and to celebrate their time their and then turn them over to their new parents. The ten children, fully dressed in traditionall outfits, processed down the stairs and into the room, where we sat waiting in white plastic chairs. It was like you were at your child’s school performance, and you were quickly scanning all the children to find your own, and maybe they would make eye contact with you or maybe hope they would see the smile on your face! The parents each got a card from the child’s caretakers. Then, we gathered around them while they held our children, and they prayed for the children and the caretakers. They turned and gave Rayne to us. Their hearts were breaking, but they said they knew this would give these children a better life and love. Rayne had a special nanny, who was with her for the entire time she was at the orphanage. We spoke with her a few days earlier, while she was showing me how she feeds Rayne cereal and successfully feeds a five month old with a cup! She shared how special Dinkenesh was to her and how she would miss her and her smile. I hugged her this morning, and promised her I would tell Rayne about her some day. She cared for my little girl when I could not. My heart felt thankful for her, and my tears and my words would remind her of how she blessed my daughter.

A few more details in the ceremony and then we left the care center and headed for immigration. I looked back as we pulled away from Rayne’s first home and saw her nanny standing in the window waving good-bye. That must be hard – to care for these children and then set them free to be with the families.

We headed to the US Embassy, where we each appeared before a man behind a window for a brief interview with our child. As he thumbed through the documents we so carefully prepared for the past months, I could not believe it was actually here. We swore that we were telling the truth about us and our lives, our baby, their birth family, and signed a bunch of papers – a process for which we are glad is over!

We left the Embassy, relieved that we all passed through with little hassle, and we were home in time for dinner!Really….TO SNUGGLE!