Two months ago.....

I met my new son for the first time.  I remember being so nervous walking up the stairs to the office at the orphanage.  My thoughts centered around "what if he doesn't like us?"  "What if he changes his mind about being adopted?"
As we walked in, we saw a lady first and then from behind her stepped NingNing.  My first two thoughts?......how handsome he was in person and how tall!

James and I smiled at him and said hello, but our guide rushed us into the paperwork, so there was no time for anything other than awkward smiles and trying not to stare at each other in fascination.  NingNing was so nervous; my heart just went out to him; what an overwhelming position for a teenager to be in and to make such a life-changing choice!  He knew he might never see China again and that life with us was a complete unknown, but he still bravely walked out the door with us.

I remember sitting crammed shoulder to shoulder in the back of the taxi on the way back to the hotel; me reveling in the nearness of him and he, I'm sure, wondering what lay before him.  What was he thinking as we drove away from all that was familiar and safe?  Was he thinking ahead to what his life would be like here or was he just taking each moment as it came?  Someday I hope to ask him these questions.......

In just two short months (has it really only been 60 days??), he has left his homecountry, traveled to places he'd never been in China, climbed the Great Wall, flown on 7 airplanes, flown across the ocean, seen a beach in HongKong, became a United States citizen, gained a family complete with one brother, 3 sisters, grandparents, cousins, and a multitude of animals; started school (4 days after arriving home); discovered he likes ice cream, chocolate cake, spaghetti, and much more; began making friends at school; wore "official" pajama pants to bed; signed up for a soccer team, learned what an "alarm clock" is, and much, much more....

Could you have made such a momentous life-altering decision at that tender age?  I'm not sure I could have...