Some people term this day "Gotcha Day" and there is lots of controversy over the use of the word. The Adoptive families magazine has an online debate about it here and then there's the Wikipedia definition .
But really, who cares about a silly word such as "Gotcha"? I just remember getting off the plane in Addis about 7:30ish in the morning and being so exhausted and wanting to take a shower (remember we left May 23rd and arrived May 25, not such a great hair day) and the closer Mulat, our driver, got to the horizon house, Bond and I kept wondering if they knew we were coming! So we did take showers before going, just because what great first impressions that would be. About 8:30, an hour later, we had a guard walk us down about 2-3 houses so we could meet the girls. We brought them each a lollipop and a small teddy bear. (We had no clue what to bring, but didn't want to bring a heap of stuff). So our first food shared was yes, a lollipop! But is was sooooo good! I remember hugging Bayat first and then Kidist, and the reverse order for Bond, hugging Kidist first and then then Bayat. They both called us mommy and daddy at that instant. It was definitely a surreal moment, being called mommy and daddy by two little girls that we'd only known through pictures. Being first time parents meeting our little peanut girls for the first time. Being in Ethiopia, really had we landed in the right place?
So we played hopscotch and ball and just sat around for what seemed like hours with one of the girls on each of our laps "inspecting" us. Looking at our glasses, commenting in Amharic to each other about Bond's lack of hair (I'm sure that is what they were talking about!), touching our faces, playing with my hair, etc. . . . . It's really amazing how much time passed while the girls "inspected" us. There were lots of hugs and kisses exchanged during this time too! Holding hands was an expectation from the girls, so we did lots of that too!
So about noon time, lunch time, comes and we thought we'd go back to the horizon house for a bit while the girls ate and we could just catch up a little bit on whatever. . . . Well, as we tried to leave, Kidist grabs Bond's hand and says, "America!". It was then that we knew they didn't have any concept of time. Kidist clearly didn't want us to leave, but didn't know when we would be taking them home with us. So we stayed for lunch and then Sister Tirhaus helped explain to the girls that we were just going to take a little nap and the same time they did. That seemed to help calm Kidist's anxieties down a little.
So a little stroll down memory lane. As I sit here and type (with of course the Scotties brand tissues to wipe the tears), I think, what a humbling experience, this whole journey, and what a great honor that I get to be my girls mommy!
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