Re-entry
Exactly five years ago, we were in Ukraine, in the home stretch of our five-week adventure for Masha’s adoption. Today is the last day that I’m posting excerpts and a photo or two from each day. Sometimes funny, and sometimes proof of how naive we were, I hope you have enjoyed our little trip down memory lane…
Note: Thursday went as planned, and our flight on Friday morning was scheduled for about 6:45 AM. It took about a week to get unpacked, settled and to write my last blog entry from the trip:
We left for the airport on Friday morning, and arrived with plenty of time to spare. Igor, our driver, delivered us to the checkin area at the airport and wished us well. We met another couple heading back with their newly adopted son, and had a nice chat while we waited…
We had an uneventful 3-hour flight from Kiev to Amsterdam, and boarded the fight to Detroit on time. Shortly after take-off, we discovered that the on-demand video system on the plane was not working properly, and Masha was pretty frustrated when she clicked to get Dora the Explorer and ended up watching Freedom Writers. Not exactly the same. We popped a movie into the laptop, and she watched that until they got the system fixed about 3 1/2 hours later. She watched the Nickelodeon shorts channel while Mark and I both watched Breach, and we were all happy.
We landed on US soil right on time, and passed through immigration faster than you could say “Brand New Citizen.” The guys that processed Masha’s immigrant visa were really friendly and welcoming, and Masha got to sign her name as a US Citizen for the first time.
During our stops in both Amsterdam and Detroit, Masha discovered the joy of moving sidewalks. Every time she hopped onto one, she had a gleeful grin on her face. She experimented with standing, walking backward, and letting her elephant ride along the handrail. I will never ride another one without remembering that smile and the joy that filled me to watch her.
Anyway, we made the short hop from Detroit to Fort Wayne with no problems, and arrived to see a whole bunch of familiar faces greeting us at the airport! After being awake and on the go for nearly 24 hours, we were pretty bleary, but thrilled to be home.
Since then, we’ve done about 24 loads of laundry, unpacked a million souvenirs, and generally settled back into American life. We’ve gone to Wal-Mart, we have updated the Y membership, dropped clothes off at the cleaners, and applied for Masha’s new library card.
On Tuesday, as we wandered around Wal-Mart for the third time in three days, Masha looked at me with pleading eyes, and said “Home?” We stayed home all day yesterday!
Overall, we are settling in well. Masha is doing great with her English…we haven’t gotten the phrasebook out yet. She is settling in really well, and we couldn’t be happier. We know that it’s still the honeymoon, and it won’t always be perfect, but for now, we’re just enjoying each day as it comes.
As I write this, Masha is lying on the floor wrapped up in a blanket, watching The Incredibles with Shead on her lap. That’s what it’s all about!
What’s the best thing about home? Leave a comment…
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About Christine
I am a writer, a project manager, and a corporate refugee with a heart for orphans around the world. My two daughters were adopted from Ukraine at ages 12 and 14. I post about writing, chasing dreams, and making a difference in the world, and sometimes I share fun snippets of fiction in-progress.