Last Post from Guangzhou
In a few hours we will be departing for the train station to take the high-speed train to Hong Kong. I was very emotional at breakfast, and even typing this sentence brings me to tears again. I did not cry departing Shanghai, but now that we are preparing to leave Julia’s home country I can’t help but mourn for her. I also am mourning for us and losing the camaraderie of other adoptive families here. We will certainly miss our new friends Beth, Howard, & Eliana.
To add insult to injury, last night was extremely difficult. Julia began waking around 11pm. She would go back to sleep only to start up again. It really got bad around 1:30am. She would wail so one of us would pick her up and she would wail even harder and almost throw herself out of our arms. It was very trying for all of us. It didn’t help that I had stayed up way too late so my mental place was not good. We gave her a bottle, and still the wailing continued. We would just all drift back to sleep and she would startle again. It didn’t matter if she was being held or in her crib, she was miserable everywhere. I wondered if it was the breadstick we had fed her that was maybe making her uncomfortable or what. Finally we realized the in-room music that we are able to control with our nightstand had stopped working. Dan realized this as while we were talking to one another trying to figure out what to do Julia seemed to relax a bit. We tried finding a tv station with music but that didn’t work so we stretched the cord of the computer as far as it would go, and then plugged the iPod into that to keep it powered, and played some music through that. Almost instantly Julia was in a more relaxed sleep and we were able to lay her down. This was at 4:00am. We slept until about 7:30 this morning, but it was not restful for Dan and I as the music was a bit distracting. So of course we are all tired today and Julia has continued to be very temperamental. Her stress rash is out in full force today as a result of last night’s trauma.
We were able to give her a bath (which went great until she moved suddenly in the tub and tipped over, getting a face full of water – pray that she does not get sick from the water she likely swallowed as the tap water is not potable here). And we did play some this morning. But for the most part she has been cranky and clinging to Dan for dear life. He was able to get her relaxed and sleeping on our bed right now, which is how I am able to be posting. When she wakes up we will grab a bite to eat and do the final packing before meeting our guide at 2:30 to pick up Julia’s visa and head to the train station.
I am excited to be home in my own bed and see our other daughters again. But I am also scared to come home and work through the jet lag, unfamiliar surroundings for Julia, etc. To me, last night was a glimpse of what is to come once we are home. I am not looking forward to it at all. I am also not looking forward to my mom leaving next week and Dan going back to work. He is Julia’s life line. I think she and I will be having some very long days together.
Farewell for now and thanks for continuing to follow along. We will try to post from Hong Kong if we are able.
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Mrsw
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Stephanie P
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Sara
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Uncle Bubba
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Bktennis