Friday in Ethiopia (part 3)

Off we went for our flight that was to be around 10pm. Within the first half an hour T had a meltdown. There was no consoling him. A few Ethiopian women came over and tried to help us calm him down. He would have none of it. The good mommy that I am I broke out baby Benadryl and gave it to T. We had done a test run with the Benadryl while in Ethiopia to make sure it made the boys drowsy. The test run was successful.

While we were waiting we had many people come over to us and ask us about the boys. Most were missionary workers. Then we heard our flight was going to be delayed. T was still having a hard time keeping it together.

There was a large group of teenage children from another African country with White English speaking leaders. These children and their leaders started to entertain us all with song and dance. From what they chose to sing we knew they were Christians. We all had such a good time listening to them.

Our flight didn’t end up leaving until around 12:30am. You may be thinking the boys were asleep by this point, nope. Not sure what happened to my trusty friend named Benadryl but both boys were wide-awake. We found our sits. There were right behind the row with the bulkhead. The backs of our seats were against the wall. You know how you can recline your seats on airplanes. You can’t if there’s a wall behind you. I felt screwed out of those few precious inches for 16 hours until we reached Washington, D.C.

As we buckled in T he had another meltdown. Again, a few Ethiopian women tried to calm him down. Again, he would have none of it. Yes we were that family with the screaming child for the ENTIRE flight. Okay literally it was not the entire flight but it was a lot of it. I know he must have slept at some point but I don’t remember when. The only one who slept was K and that wasn’t even much. But Boy did we eat well. I felt like a senior citizen in a retirement home, the one that spends their time thinking about and excitedly anticipating their next meal. You know you’ve traveled for a long time when you eat three meals on the same flight. We did stop in Rome to refuel and have a change in staff. Before we took off we all were instructed to buckle our seat belts. The plane isn’t moving yet and we try to buckle T in. This brought on another meltdown. The airline attendant came over to us and said something to the effect of "Can’t you make him stop." To which we replied, "No, we don’t even speak the same language. You try." So she did and it didn’t work. Then she said, "Why did you fly if this is how he reacts?" How helpful! Yes how stupid of us not to find alternate transportation from Ethiopia to the U.S. She must have realized the stupidity of her words because when we were getting off the plane she was very nice to us (or maybe she was just happy to see us go).

So there we were trying to make the best of our 16-hour flight with two boys who couldn’t understand a word we said. T continued to have meltdowns. As I looked at the others who sat around us no one seemed bothered by it. I had a bag full of new toys to keep the boys occupied. They worked on K but not on T. He couldn’t be bought.

K continued to have diarrhea. The lady in front of us offered her bassinet attached to the bulkhead. Although very tempting it wasn't a good idea because I didn't want to pass on what K had to her child. We didn't see any place to change K in the airplane bathrooms. I changed him where we sat.

Part 3 coming soon.

1st Birthday Cake

Look who had a birthday. He made up for it with three birthday parties!K must be reading the stocks.

Last day in Ethiopia (part 2)

Second half of Friday in Ethiopia. When we returned from shopping we all ate lunch together and then put the boys down for their naps. While the boys slept we made the mad dash to get all our packing done. We left most of the clothes and toys we had brought with us. Once in Ethiopia it’s hard not to leave everything you own.

After naps our travel group gathered for the coffee ceremony. Most of the nanny’s, the other children in the orphanage and all the other staff members joined to say good bye. The nanny’s and children danced and sang for us. T became very sullen. We had a sense this was upsetting him. Now that we know him better we realize it did upset him. Grief is a funny thing. It doesn’t feel good when you go through it but its something we need to go through to get to the other side. Although it upset T, it was an opportunity to say, "see you again Ethiopia." As parents I was full of emotion. We knew the ceremony was to say good bye to their birth country. We mourned for those who couldn’t mourn for themselves.

The coffee ceremony was delicious.

First incense was burning. Next they brought a bowl and jug to pour water over your hands to wash them. Then they brought around the coffee has it was roasting so we could smell the aroma. One of the travel members was selected to cut this huge round loaf of bread. It looked like the same bread our birth mother served us and it was just as yummy. Then we were served the coffee in these tiny cups with sugar. I know I’ve mentioned this before but the coffee is awesome. I could not get enough of it. Next popcorn was served.

At the end of the ceremony we all said our good byes and ate dinner. For the people who stayed in the guesthouse with us it was hard to say good bye. We had all shared something very special and bonds were made. I made a mad dash over to T’s orphanage to take pictures of other families children to send to them when we returned home. As I was leaving one girl about 6 came up to me saying something. I had no idea what she said but I did hear her say T’s name. I took her picture thinking she was Ts friend.

Back at Horizon House we did a video interview on top of the house. We tried to get some family pictures taken too but T kept looking at the city. We couldn’t get him to look at the camera. Then about five families piled into the van to go to the airport. It was about 7pm. It was our first time seeing the city in the dark.
When we arrived at the airport everyone tried to get from the parking lot to the airport quickly. Beggars and people wanting to help you for a tip just surrounded you making it hard to make your way through. Mullet our driver helped Rick and I navigate our way through to the airport. I felt honored and blessed that out of all the families he chose us to help. Once we reached the airport he kissed both Rick and I and said, "God bless you." That was one thing that really struck me. Everyone we met seemed to be sincerely grateful we were adopting our boys.
Then we went in the airport. It is very daunting to be in a third world country. At the airport everything seemed so unorganized but they have very friendly workers. Everyone in Ethiopia seemed to have a joy despite the poverty. As we waited in line for about an hour we saw lots of families like ours. It was amazing to see all these parents with little Ethiopian children. It seemed they were all under 12 months except for our two. As we made eye contact with them there was a knowing understood bond that we all shared. We all looked a bit dazed, tired, confused and excited all at the same time.

When we arrived to the luggage check in counter the conveyer belt was broken. There was this huge pile of luggage on the belt that ran onto the floor. As the gentleman took our four large bags of luggage I quietly kissed them good bye. I thought there is no way they are going to make it back to little Rhode Island.

More to come...