Red Thread Return Trip

It has been 7 wonderful years since we returned from China with AiLi and became a family.  And our bonds with the families we traveled with have grown stronger and deeper with each passing year.  We knew we wanted to visit China again with our daughters and we are now on the eve of that dream becoming a reality.  Four of the six families in our original CAWLI adoption group are leaving on Saturday, April 11th for our adventure.  The girls are (in their own words) "super duper excited" about the trip.  We have an ambitious itinerary planned: Beijing, Xi-an, Chengdu, Hefei, Yellow Mountain and Shanghai as we look to expose the girls to as much of what China has to offer in a short two week window.  It will be fun and educational and in some respects bittersweet, especially our visit to the orphanage.  We thank our many family and friends who contributed to AiLi's fundraising project to buy presents for the children still living at the Huainan Social Welfare Institute.  We invite you to follow along on our journey and look forward to sharing as much of it as possible.

Due to new Chinese laws blocking most popular social media sites we'll be moving our blog to

https://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Montyson/

Hopefully this won't become blocked.

Gotcha day, some looking back 1/29/2013

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11 Feb 2007: Safely and Happily Home

From halfway around the world, over 28 hours from 4:30 a.m. wake-up call to touchdown in Boston at 7:00 p.m., we journeyed home with AiLi. Thanks to the vagaries of time zones, we departed China on Wednesday, February 7 and arrived back in North America on the same day. Considering the distance, her age and experience, AiLi did extremely well, awake most of the time but not disturbing any other passengers. Her sleepy mother spent the lion’s share of the trip with her daughter, with occasional respite care by Daddy Ira, Auntie Susan and Great Cousin Marilyn. (No upgrade this time, unfortunately, and we were seated in various locations around the plane.) By Chicago, our entry point to the U.S., we were all suffering from frayed nerves, exhaustion, cramped muscles and too many line-ups, but the voyage was relatively smooth with no airline delays, thankfully.

We were thrilled to be greeted at Logan by a surprise delegation of the Driscoll family: Karen’s brother Sean and his wife Joan, with daughters Siobhan (3) and Nora (1); and Karen’s brother Fran, who had just flown in from D.C. We were caught unprepared and so have no photos of this wonderful welcoming committee with their beautiful hand-made signs, smiling faces and warm, enthusiastic hugs. They also brought gifts and food, and made our arrival a true celebration. Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness!!!!

As we have been getting over our jet lag these past three or four days, AiLi continues to thrive. She has had her first visit to the pediatrician, Dr. Whitman, who has diagnosed her to be in fine form and likely to make rapid progress both in terms of her growth and intellectual development. She is smiling a lot, imitating sounds, gestures and facial expressions with enthusiasm, learning to play with her toys and sleep in her own room. Her particular favorite is the toy piano, which provides ample opportunity for banging on the keys while producing beautiful music. (This was one of Daddy’s best finds at the exchange area of the Wayland dump, batteries included.)

Cousin Marilyn and Auntie Susan both left on Thursday, sorry to say good-bye to AiLi and feeling so lucky to have been included in this miraculous and uplifting experience. Like all of you, we will watch AiLi’s development with interest and affection, and hope that the opportunities to get together come often and come soon.

We love you, AiLi! Thanks for blessing our lives with your sweet presence. As Charles Dickens said, “It is no small thing to be loved by one so fresh from God.”

Auntie Susan

6 Feb 2007: Homeward Bound!

Our last day in Guangzhou and China has dawned. It has been an incredible and exhilerating journey, first and foremost because of the addition of AiLi to our family, but also because of the amazing opportunity we’ve had to experience three fascinating areas of this vast, energized and exciting country.

Since arriving in Guangzhou late Friday evening, AiLi has been blessed by a monk at the Temple of the Six Banyans; we’ve taken a sunset dinner cruise on the Pearl River, the buildings on the shore lit with spectacular brilliance; heard Chinese opera sung under the bridge leading to the hotel, with accompaniment by traditional instruments; and shopped till we dropped at the Pearl Market and area stores and street stalls, of which there are thousands, if not millions.

Most important, all of AiLi’s US visa processing has been completed. She will become an official American citizen as soon as she passes through Immigration and Customs in Chicago at 11:44 a.m. Central Time on Wednesday, February 7.

Though we leave China with some regret and a firm intention to return, we are all looking forward to getting home, sharing our pictures, observations and memories with all of you, and, most important, introducing you to our darling AiLi, who is everyday growing, blossoming and becoming Ira and Karen’s daughter.

Auntie Susan