Reflection On Gotcha Day

This picture was the last thing we did on Gotcha day. Not your traditional family caregiver picture but it is a true representation of the love Annalise has for her Nanny.

I was a nervous wreck trying to say calm but just couldn’t. We gathered at 2:00 and made our way to the Adoption Center of Guangdong Province about 15 minutes away. Then up to the 8th floor and entered a big room with couches and coffee tables around the sides. There is a children’s playroom with a curtain and this is where the children wait for the adoption to begin. The curtain was open and who was right in plain view but little Annalise herself. She was so animated running up to the curtain and looking out and playing peek-a-boo with curtain and all of us. She waved at us and blew us kisses and I saw my first smile. My heart was just bursting with love for this little girl. Then things began we were the 3rd family to get their child. She was carried out by her Nanny and a lady from the SWC. It is all a blur but she did not want to let go of her Nanny. I did not want to take her out of her arms so I asked if she would sit down with me. We sat on the couches and I got out the snack cup and showed it to her she was happy to eat and loved everything. I used the snack cup to get her to move away from her Nanny. With the Nanny’s help she made her way onto the floor and she continued to eat from the cup and she let me feed her. It was finally time and I picked her up and the crying began. After we had a few minutes together her Nanny came up and took her back and she stopped crying right away. This was what she wanted and I did not mind. We all sat down together and I had a chance to ask questions. I asked about the note that was left with her by her birth parents and they did not know about a note and I said it is in all her paperwork that there is a note. They called the SWC and the note was faxed to me. The Nanny handed me a stack of papers stapled at the top. It is all the Half the Sky Progress notes and pictures from the last 2 years. I bursted into tears and hugged her Nanny so tight and thanked her with all my heart. (BTW this was the first time I cried so I won the bet between Will and myself for not crying) Her Nanny is in many of the pictures and she is the one in the picture on the side bar. They also presented me with a special momentums and a note from her Grandmother at the SWC. This was such an emotional time for both of us. She was so loved by her Nanny and Shenzhen took such wonderful care of her. I will be indebted to them for the rest of my life and hope to keep in contact with them. I want to take her back to Shenzhen but I don’t know if it is a good idea right now and my rep agrees we need to wait and maybe at the end of the trip we can go if she comes around. Shenzhen has given me an invitation to visit so we will just have to see. Annalise is very smart and knows exactly what is going on. I just wonder how much she may remember someday. I hope this blog helps her to know how much she is loved by so many people around the world.