Optimism and Adrenaline

Jan 12--Off to the Airport

We are spending the night in a hotel near the airport. I wouldn't consider it, except for the ice and the 7:30 flight. I have to admit that it's nice to have the van parked and my bags packed. I have to get up at 4:30 AM, but I won't sleep anyway. It's only 24 hours away!

The last song on the radio before I left the van was SC Chapman's I'm Diving In, so here I go, off to China! My friend Karen told me to have faith and not fear, so that's what I'm holding onto right now. The panic is just under the surface.

I'm thinking about how everything will change for Ethan. Everything that's been familiar to him will change. He'll be ripped away from his familiar to go with strangers. I can't wait to meet him, but he has no idea what's about to happen.

Jan 13th-- On the Airplane

We arrived at 5:15 and got boarding passes. It took five bins and 3 bags through security. I had to remove my shoes and Jackson's shoes, shed the coats, put the liquids in my 2 allowed baggies on the line, get out the laptop etc. No one wanted to be behind us. Going through security with a 5 year old was challenging. US Air didn't ticket us correctly, issuing a paper ticket instead of an e-ticket boarding pass. Even though we were over 2 hours early, we were pulled from the loading ramp and had to go change the pass. I was angry and panicked! I had been so afraid I'd miss the SF flight because of delay, not because of incompetence. We were the last ones on the plane, but we made it. Jackson watched Wonder Pets the entire flight all 5 and half hours!

The second flight was longer. After about 3 hours, Jackson thought we would go upstairs (to business class) and find a bed and sleep. I had been telling him that we would need to sleep for the last part of the flight. When he found out there was no bed waiting for him, he had a full meltdown, laying down in the aisle and crying. I was terribly embarrassed, but a few Chinese grandmothers close by chuckled and said, "Oh he so fussy. He so tired." After that, he did sleep for the rest of the flight. 27 hours after we left our hotel room in Charlotte, we were in our hotel in Beijing, exhausted.