My Overthinking

Philly Area mom, Life forever changed by adoption

Day 12: Home

Day 12, we’re home from the beach (sigh). More importantly, Mr. China is homeward bound too.

In between laundry, making beds, cleaning the house, and mowing the lawn, we’ve had our eyes on him all day.

No call yet saying he’s on American soil. But, our handy dandy track-your-husband device says he is. 
Now, we just gotta get him home from Chicago. 
Not sure how ready he is for re-entry into day-to-day life. After what he’s experienced over the last 12 days, I’m thinking it’s going to be a bit challenging. 
We’re ready to help him through it. And, at least he doesn’t have to mow the lawn for a week. 

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Day 7: I’m a Peacock

My man.

The one who would tell you he’s quiet and shy, prefers a few rather than many.

I found this in my inbox today from Frank who works with my parents and is our godson’s father.

He sorta stands out in a crowd…just a little bit. 
He taught about 400 college students about success. 
Before he left for China, he got his Power Point slides finished, had me look them over, all his points about what success really means. It was good. And, he emailed me yesterday to say he decided to change it. Rather than his points about kindness, generosity, friendship, he focused on truth and how to be truly successful, you need to seek truth and live it out. 
And, I know he was awesome up there–and my mom confirmed that yes he was.
ooo…that’s our family picture up there…I’m sorta in China.
Mark emailed me –

Really fun night. Everything went really well. . . . They were so quiet and listened to everything. One girl came up front and wrote down every word from the power point and asked me all kinds of questions.

Yeah, he’s pretty much a rock star apparently.

Love you so much and wish you were here to share all this. You would love being with the kids as well. They would love you so much. 

He’s killing me.

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Day 5: Rolling

Got a 20 minute call with Mark this morning which was the highlight of my day.

Things are rolling – the team members are in the classrooms at the university teaching. Friendships are being built. Everyone is learning quite a bit–teachers and students alike, it seems. The students’ English skills aren’t as good as Mark was expecting, and it’s hard. But, he clearly was smiling when he talked with me this morning (which made me smile for most of the day), excited about the opportunities in front of him to both serve the kids there and serve the teachers who are there long term.

And, things are rolling here – another school week began, grocery shopping done, lunches made, homework complete, leftovers on paper plates for dinner, surfing Craigslist for bunk beds (see previous post). Just rolling along.

This, however, is not doing much rolling.

I got a lesson on how to get the thing turned on before Mark left. I mistakenly assumed it would work sort of like a vacuum cleaner that has that nice wheely like thing underneath that makes it sort of move without much effort.
Wrong.
Using this thing is worse than pushing a double stroller with a buggy board around Disney World.
And, my yard is proof of that. I feel like I need to put a yard sign out that says: 

NOTE – yard care provider out of the country for a time. Have mercy.

Good news is that I was worried Mark would come home to a wife 5 lbs. heavier after all that yummy carny food from last week. But, I mowed the lawn today, so I think I’m good. 
Not good enough though to make myself one of the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup milkshakes I made the 3 big kids tonight. 
Yup, still sugaring them up. And, they’re loving it. 

Off to watch an old episode of The Guardian which I’m currently hooked on and then get some editing work done before I collapse.

Day 5. Over and out.

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Day 2: Need coffee

Who’s crazy idea was it to take 4 kids to the Dogwood Festival without their father?

Oh, wait, that was me.

They went hog wild.

And, I was starting to go a wee bit crazy with a 3 year old running (no walking, only running) from ride to ride and three older kids each with their own plan of attack to get on those rides–different rides.

But, oh, the night looked different when reinforcements showed up and saved me from having to ride the dragon mini roller coaster again and having to force the children to actually stay together. Abbey and Ben are saints to me for sitting on a burlap sack and heading down the fun slide too many times to keep track of as well as going on a ton of dizzying deathtraps and walking Lydia through the Monkey Maze, the funhouse maze of mirrors, that has been my nemesis for years.

Clearly, I’m not the only one thinking the reinforcements are saints. As we parted ways at 9:45pm (whose crazy idea was this again?), Lydia yelled out the door, “Ben, I LOVE YOU!” 
All fun and games until this morning when the choice to stay out that late was not looking as good.
I lived life on the edge and actually drank my cup of coffee 2/3 decaf and 1/3 regular. Don’t judge me. I needed it after all that stress the night before. 
Once the older kids were off to school with dark circles under their eyes, Lydia and I got a dose of social caffeine via a little play date with some other adoptive moms and their kids. 

And, social caffeine is way better than the liquid kind.
Right now, as I type, Mark is going on an official tour of the university where he’s teaching. At least, that’s what the itinerary says. With no wireless where he is and a very busy schedule, I’m not expecting to hear much if at all from him. 
Praying his tour and his first experience on campus is caffeine enough for him. 

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