One day more...

{singing} All my bags are... spewing out onto the floor amongst piles and piles of stuff.

That's how the song goes, right?

That's my bag. It's still empty in that picture, by the way.

My grandmother got that luggage for me as a gift for high school graduation FOURTEEN YEARS AGO. It's filthy because it's been to countless cities and states and exactly eight countries since then. Now it's ready for two more. I'd say you made a decent investment, Nana!

This time tomorrow, Cale & I will be headed for Hong Kong.  We will spend the night there and continue on to China the next morning.

I'm a little panicked.

My diet usually consists of homemade black bean "burger" patties, big kale salads, and roasted veggies etc etc etc. Yesterday, it consisted of two coffees, cheesesticks, and beer. That's me panicking. 

Today, right on cue:  Cale & I are the only ones that woke up stuffy and coughy. Our one year old dishwasher isn't working this morning. Margot the Cargot has a low tire. Yada Yada. It's life, but it's a lot of life at once.  To me, that means something incredible is about to happen and the devil himself is panicking. That puts a spring in my step!

Several have commented that this is old hat for us. Ya'll, this is completely different.

Because China, for one. No clue. Just gettin' on a plane to China with no clue. 

But also, he is SEVEN. 

Seven YEARS old. 

Same as Cale. And he's been in the same place since infancy and with the same foster parents since toddlerhood, and I just keep thinking...  What if it were Cale?! Who, at seven years old, is suddenly told to walk away from the only life he's ever known? And he's supposed to go with these strangers who don't look like him, and don't sound like him, and leave EVERYTHING behind... and be happy about it? How terrifying.

WE KNOW that if he was not being adopted, he would die. Sooner rather than later. We know that. He doesn't. He doesn't know that. 

EVERYTHING HE KNOWS ABOUT LIFE is about to change. 

We are excited and nervous and so ready to get our arms around him.

But I cannot even begin to imagine what all he feels.

I don't exactly expect him to run and jump into my arms. And that's okay. We are prepared to have no expectations at all and just let him be wherever he's at right then. Hopefully, he will warm up to us. Hopefully he will see the desperation sweating out of me and wanna give me a shot. Hopefully, he will fall for Cale's enormous smile and think... that's one cool dude. I should totally play cars with him in the hotel room.  

I guess we'll see. SOON. 

This is crazy talk. 

Going to China and making him our's and then just hanging out in China with my two sons, catching appointments here and there. 

C-R-A-Z-Y.

Can't quite wrap my head around it. 

For so long, he's just been a collection a pictures and daydreams. In four days, he becomes OUR'S.

In case one million times wasn't enough... thank you.
So much gratitude for your support, your encouragement, your dollars. Thanks for being bold and being loud. Thanks for sharing and caring and all those good things that have gotten us here and will bring him home.

Ya'll, he's coming home!

** I will post here as often as I can! **