A little about Mississippi, a little about Louisiana, a little about New Orleans and A LOT about our adoption story. This blog and our adoption story is dedicated to Camryn and Matthew Cassreino so that you both will know. Copyright 2021 by Terry R. Cassreino
MADISON, Miss. (Sunday, Dec. 21, 2008, 9:30 p.m.) – I just barely made it through today as I continue to struggle with jet lag from our 31-hour trip to China in which we passed over the International Date Line and 14 time zones.
Pam also is struggling. In fact, it seems worse this trip than it was last time in April 2006 – possibly because we traveled home in 23 hours in 2006 compared to 31 hours this year.
Nevertheless, we managed to take Matthew and Camryn to visit Santa at the Bass Pro Shop in Pearl. Hey, the shop has a much better Santa than Northpark Mall in Ridgeland.
Matthew went hysterical and Camryn shied away.
After I explained to Camryn that Santa likely would pass up our house on Christmas Eve if she didn’t tell him what she wanted, she returned for a short visit on his lap.
Santa still had to pry from Camryn her Christmas wish: A hula hoop and a jump rope. Hopefully, I will be able to post a couple of Santa photos by Monday.
Today, Pam and I shopped for Christmas at Wal-MartSuperCenter in Madison. As expected, it was a madhouse; we lasted a couple of hours before deciding to hit Target on Monday.
Copyright 2008 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.
MADISON (Saturday, Dec. 20, 2008, 5:35 p.m.) – Many of the Chinese we met during our Dec. 2-Dec. 18 adoption trip were concerned about one thing: The failing United States economy.
Everywhere we went in Beijing, Zhengzhou and Guangzhou, the Chinese whom we met and whom spoke English all wanted to know just how bad the economic crisis is back home.
I was fascinated with their concern, especially in a country that is still a developing nation. My answer was the same: It’s very bad, it could get worse but Presidet-elect Barack Obama will bring much needed change to the nation.
Our economic problems won’t end overnight, I said, but President-elect Obama will put us on the right path to correct the problems of the past eight years.
Copyright 2008 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.
MADISON (Saturday, Dec. 20, 2008, 8:10 a.m. CDT) – My Friday was pretty much shot.
I stopped by the bank in the morning to deposit unused travelers checks (we got by nearly three weeks in China spending half of the budgeted amount of money, something I find amazing).
I visited my doctor to find relief from the sinus infection from hell that has been dragging along since Thanksgiving. My doctor gave me another round of antibiotics and took an x-ray of my sinuses.
I stopped by Kroger for about an hour to buy some much needed groceries for the house. And then at CVS Pharmacy to fill my prescription for antibiotics.
By the time I returned home, Pam was getting Camryn, our daughter, and Matthew, our son, ready for an afternoon nap. I was tired, too. The jet lag finally caught up with me.
Thursday night arrival
We arrived at the Jackson-EversInternationalAirport at 9:21 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 18. Northwest dumped our plane off on the tarmac, which I thought was classless and tacky.
We had to carry Matthew down a flight of steep steps, walk across the tarmac to the terminal, then trudge up two flights of steps to the terminal building. That sucked.
A few feet down the corridor, our family was ready to greet us and meet their new brother, cousin and grandson: Matthew Wu Di Cassreino. It was an overwhelmingly emotional event.
Our daughter screamed with delight to see us for the first time since Monday night, Dec. 1. Our moms cried tears of joy at seeing their grandson.
And Matthew was vaklempt. Actually, he cried and screamed, not wanting anyone but Pam and me.
Adapting to home
Since Thursday night, Matthew has accepted his family. He goes to his cousin, Jamie. He wants his Maw Maw Gay (my mother). He lets Na Na (Pam’s mom) hold him. And he loves his new sister, Camryn.
Camryn also loves her new brother. Other than learning about sharing (Matthew has no toys, while Camryn has tons) and the occasional slight streak of jealously (which is to be expected), Camryn adores her brother.
If you need proof, take a look at this accompanying photo: Friday night, Camryn helped Matthew to the glider in our living room, sat right next to him and gently ricked back-and-forth while her brother laughed of joy.
Then, Camryn rocked Matthew to sleep.
On tap for today: Let’s put up the Christmas tree and – maybe – let’s visit Santa Claus.
Copyright 2008 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.
DETROIT (Thursday, Dec. 18, 2008, 2 p.m. CDT) – The 19 hours in the air from Guangzhou to Detroit, including time spent at airports in Guangzhou and Tokyo, has taken a large toll on Pam and I.
Simply put: We are tired. Drained. Exhausted. We got virtually no sleep on the Guangzhou to Tokyo flight and the Tokyo to Detroit flight. We don’t feel good. And we are ready to go home.
Now we are stuck in Detroit for another six hours waiting for our connecting flight to Jackson. And to make matters worse, the best place we could find for food was Fudruckers.
Just how much of a challenge was today’s flights? Well consider these facts:
In flight meals: These were terrible, horrible and completely tasteless compared to the food served on the way over to China. Bland eggs for breakfast. Nasty chicken for lunch.
In flight films: Nothing to write home about here. “The Women,” which sucked. “Wall-E,” which sucked. A few television shows, which sucked.
Sleep deprived: Pam and Matthew were so tired that they fell asleep waiting in the lounge area waiting for our flight to Jackson. Matthew slept on the seats, Pam on the hard floor.
Restroom blues: When Pam woke about an hour or so before our flight left, she decided to use the restroom. Minutes later, she rushed back to the waiting area breathlessly to tell me she was so tired she didn’t realize she used the men’s room until she left the stall and noticed urinals lining the wall. As she told me, a gentleman who apparently was in the same restroom passed by laughing and waving to her.
The joys of international flight. Can’t wait to get home.
Copyright 2008 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.
SOMEWHERE ABOARD NORTHWEST AIRLINES (Thursday, Dec. 18, 2008, 10 a.m. CDT) – Pam, Matthew and I should be approaching Detroit at this time, ready to land in the United States and make Matthew a U.S. citizen.
After an afternoon layover, we will board another plane for a trip to Jackson.
As I said in previous posts, we are scheduled to arrive on Northwest Flight 2978 at 9:21 p.m. on Thursday night, Dec. 18, 2008, at the Jackson-Evers International Airport.
If you can make it there, great – we’d love to see you. If not, that’s OK – you’ll have a lot of time to meet Matthew.
Pam, Matthew and I, however, want to let you know that we appreciate your thoughts and prayers and that we are glad you took time to follow this intimate and personal journey through our Web site.
God bless everyone – and have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We will try our best to do the same.
Copyright 2008 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.
