** Adoption countdown: 9 days until Pam, Terry and Matthew return home **
ZHENGZHOU, China (Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2008, 9:20 p.m.) – Matthew is asleep.
After a long day of off-and-on crying and screaming, Matthew Wu Di finally gave in and fell asleep on our bed in our room at the Crowne Plaza hotel here in Zhengzhou.
I picked him up and gently placed him in a crib the hotel staff put in our room. And then I slipped outside the room to the lobby of this impressive hotel to update the blog.
Matthew had an incredibly rough and emotionally trying day. His caregiver in Beijing took him on a 10-hour train trip overnight to Zhengzhou so he could be here when we arrived.
And, of course, he suffered an emotional rollercoaster that climaxed when he was given to our custody at about 2:45 p.m. local time earlier today (About 12:45 a.m. back home).
Think about it: Here is a child who is 20 months old, who has lived the past year in a foster home, who has built a relationship with a loving caregiver and who suddenly found himself stick with Americans speaking a strange language.
I’d be ticked off, too, if I was Matthew.
After about a 30-minute stay at the Civil Affairs office, Pam, Matthew, I and our Holt International guide walked about five minutes away to have our official family portrait taken for the adoption process.
Then it was off to the hotel. Well, not quite. Despite our three trips to Wal-Mart SuperCenter in Beijing, would you know that we would forget to bring staples for any child: diapers, sippy cups, wipes, etc.
Our Holt escort came to the rescue. She stopped at a local store and picked up a few necessities, then dropped them off at our hotel room. That was a huge help.
Meanwhile, Matthew Wu Di cried incessantly. And even though we tried everything, we couldn’t console him. Food didn’t work, toys didn’t work. I guess he just had to let it out.
Right at about 6 p.m., we headed to the hotel restaurant – which served an incredible buffet highlighted by South American barbecue. Matthew filled up on friend rice, deserts and fresh fruit.
Then after about an hour in the restaurant, it was back upstairs to the room for a bath (Matthew’s because Pam refused to bathe me anymore) before falling asleep in our bed.
Copyright 2008 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.
