a year ago
year ago this week i was in southern china, getting to know my new baby. it was hotter than you can imagine. so hot that i had a sheen of sweat constantly and i kept a handkerchief handy for wiping my brow. so hot that the minute you stepped out of a building your clothes were damp. so hot that bottle of “peachy” and water were in constant presence. so hot that a mid day break in the a/c was a must, even though there were more adventures to be had.
china is a place of such juxtapositions. on the one hand: exotic, beautiful and full of new things. on the other : filled with grinding poverty and pollution and smells like nothing you can imagine. i loved my time in china both trips. both what i call the “real china” of rural hunan and fujian - eating street food, being a foreigner or “big nose” as we caucasians are called, as well as the adoption disneyland that is guangzhou and the white swan. i looked forward to each trip with joy and excitement, and i was equally excited to board the plane for home.
in this year i have gone from a mom focused on one wonderful child, to balancing the needs of two fabulous kids. the beginning was hard. ok it was hell. but the rough stuff lasted only a couple of months and with the support of my mom and my friends i muddled through it. i am not sure when it happened but one day i realized that i was doing it , and doing it pretty well.
hazel has added a dimension to my life that i could not have imagined. she has lightened me up and made me laugh loudly and heartily. she has kept me up at night wiggling and squirming, woken me in the morning with a cheery “hello mama” and kissed me “goo night”. she has gone from a quiet baby to a loud and happy toddler. she has a sense of humor and a lovely smile. her heart is healed.
this morning we walked to the post office, me pushing her down the dusty “bumpy roads” of our neighborhood. i was hot and sweaty and thinking of china with a bit of longing, wishing i had another trip planned there.
china is a place of such juxtapositions. on the one hand: exotic, beautiful and full of new things. on the other : filled with grinding poverty and pollution and smells like nothing you can imagine. i loved my time in china both trips. both what i call the “real china” of rural hunan and fujian - eating street food, being a foreigner or “big nose” as we caucasians are called, as well as the adoption disneyland that is guangzhou and the white swan. i looked forward to each trip with joy and excitement, and i was equally excited to board the plane for home.
in this year i have gone from a mom focused on one wonderful child, to balancing the needs of two fabulous kids. the beginning was hard. ok it was hell. but the rough stuff lasted only a couple of months and with the support of my mom and my friends i muddled through it. i am not sure when it happened but one day i realized that i was doing it , and doing it pretty well.
hazel has added a dimension to my life that i could not have imagined. she has lightened me up and made me laugh loudly and heartily. she has kept me up at night wiggling and squirming, woken me in the morning with a cheery “hello mama” and kissed me “goo night”. she has gone from a quiet baby to a loud and happy toddler. she has a sense of humor and a lovely smile. her heart is healed.
this morning we walked to the post office, me pushing her down the dusty “bumpy roads” of our neighborhood. i was hot and sweaty and thinking of china with a bit of longing, wishing i had another trip planned there.
posted by chris at
11:23 AM
2 Comments:
That was really beautiful Chris. What lucky girls to have landed a Mommy like you! You've come together to make a perfect family. It's so nice to see others put into words how I too feel about China. It's a place to be awed and amazed by for sure.
Thank you for emailing me. Your girls are simply beautiful!!! And you freaked me out about how hot it is....I knew it...but now I am extra freaked out... :-)
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