Packing and Counting Down

Call it Irish superstition.

Call it procrastination.

Call it being a mother of a 3 1/2-year-old.

Whatever the reason, we didn't even start thinking about packing for China until after we received our LOA. Then I bought some infant medicine and an inflatable bumblebee. It wasn't until the week we went to the beach that I realized we didn't have any clothes in the house that would fit Michael. That Friday we got our Travel Approval.

Good thing I thrive under the pressure of a deadline.

As it turns out, this has been a relatively stress-free packing experience. Using our spare bedroom--soon to be the bedroom for our sweet little boy--I got things organized.

My husband is a master packer, but somehow I have assumed the responsibility of China packing both times. My secret? These marvelous compressible bags.

By Sunday night almost everything was inside our two pieces of checked luggage.

In fact, we had quite a bit of room to spare. I started thinking of adding another outfit for Michael or another frivolous shirt for me. But I had also promised to carry a donation of shoes to an orphanage in Guangzhou for Love Without Boundaries (have I mentioned how we love LWB?), so I was saving room. And good thing I did. The shoes arrived yesterday, and--with a bit of maneuvering--they filled every last nook and cranny of the larger suitcase.

Perfection--and all without much effort. As former December travelers who had to pack for two different climates, we are thankful to be traveling to meet Michael in August.

If you've packed for China before, you know that they have very strict regulations on weight and size of luggage. Last time I stressed over it. Then we got to China and realized those regulations don't apply to adoptive parents. This time I'm not worrying at all. And we'll have our yuan in hand, ready to pay any extra fees if necessary.

Even Louis has helped with the packing. I wanted to make a photo album for him to have while we are away, and also one for us to bring to Michael to show him more about his new family and home. Louis and I went to the store to pick out two albums. (And, wow, does our house look messy in these photos.)

I wasn't surprised that Louis picked a yellow one for himself--yellow is his favorite color, after all. What surprised me was that he wanted Michael to have an identical album. Then he was excited to fill them with photos.

 

I had told him that he could fill his album with pictures of Mama and Baba and Louis. "And Michael," he corrected me quickly. Oops.

If you look closely enough, you'll see one of the two new photos we received of Michael last week. He's wearing a "Spongeboy" shirt. Oh, how his big brother is coveting that shirt! "A blue one, Mama. I want a blue Spongebob shirt, please."

Louis explained why he was picking some of the photos. He wanted to show Michael two of his friends, Cat in the Hat and Puppydog. He wanted a picture of Baba playing Zingo--"No, Mama. It's called Bingo"--with him for his own album.

Louis has also been helping with the work on Michael's room. We had it repainted in April and tried to pick a theme that wasn't something Louis was excited about. We didn't want him to be jealous. We settled on a nautical theme. Louis likes boats well enough, but not as much as other vehicles.

And yes, once or twice, I may have been caught humming "Michael, Row Your Boat Ashore" while packing.

Aunt Treasa, who made a beautiful blue blanket for Louis, made a lovely yellow one for Michael. Look closely and you can see his name in the blanket. And yes, it is packed. Louis's blue Aunt Treasa blanket was so comforting to him in our first days together.

The stuffed Mickey Mouse is a gift from Grandma. The quilt hanging on the back of the crib was a splurge from his mother. And the crib...well, it's a somewhat reluctant gift from his big brother, who is still fond of his crib, though he has been happily sleeping in his big boy bed since April.

Once we move the suitcases and vacuum out, Michael's room will be ready.

We have a few books...

 ...a crab...

 ...and a bookcase Baba and Louis assembled themselves--complete with a "Michael" train Louis knows he can't play with until Michael comes home to share it with him.

We also have curtains. When we were waiting for LOA, and it seemed unlikely we would ever travel, I started sewing curtains. I'm not a seamstress. I'm just rather finicky about curtains and I couldn't find what I wanted.

Mine are not terrific. But they are done. And my dear husband is going to try to add nails or hooks so I can add tiebacks before we go.

Meanwhile, Louis is as well-prepared for our trip as he can be. This morning he calmly asked again to go and I told him (again) that it is a work trip to bring Michael home.

"One day we will all go back to China for fun, Mama, Baba, Louis, and Michael," I said.

"How's that for a plan?" Louis said. "Sounds good."

(If you happened to be at our bank on Saturday, you'll know it's an especially good plan. The best part of our bank visit was when Louis pointed to a man waiting in line and said loudly and clearly, "Mama, that man is the bank robber!" It all went downhill from there.)

Leaving Louis home is going to be hard. And we have put as much time into "packing" for his stay as for our travels. We found a great big box to fill with goodies--one for our Louis to unwrap every day we're away.

Louis being Louis, he filled it himself.



And then emptied and refilled it.

After he went to bed, we filled it with his surprises--and topped the pile with a paper chain. In theory, he'll cut a link a day while we're away, counting down to seeing us and meeting Michael. In reality, I suspect he'll be having so much fun he'll forget all about it. And that's just fine.

We'll be counting down to that reunion ourselves. We cannot wait to see our boys together at last. For now, though, we are excited for the moment we will meet our new son and become a family of four.

They won't be wrapped in yellow paper, but we just can't wait for all the surprises Michael has in store for his forever family.