Health Clinic

The morning began early with Emma awaking and quietly moving and gurgling in her crib beside me. Like each morning since Emma entered our world, the ordinary and extraordinary intersect. A quiet morning, sun rising, baby awaking, a hot bottle all ordinary everyday routine...this incredible gift, this little sweet one in our lives now- her life and ours so changed. This is the extraordinary. Life with Emma has been just under a week and her progress astounds me. I go about fixing her bottle with only sounds Emma's moving patiently about in her crib and the tinkering and soft whistling of the water boiling for her bottle.

We snuggle up in the chair beside the window for her morning bottle. Like every morning since the day she entered our lives, she stares deeply into my eyes while I feed her with one hand on my arm patting it while she drinks. That she looks into my face so deeply is another of the extraordinary things. Her eyesight so weak and her inability to focus or move her eyes to people and objects hint to her sight challenges. But when you are holding her and she sees your face...your eyes, hers focus with all their energy and without distraction on your face...and make you feel like nothing or no one else exists to her in that moment. This morning, we share another of those moments as she finishes her bottle. I hold her up and soothe her to help the aspirating and watch as the sun slowly turns a dark sky into morning grey that casts a soft early light across the river where the morning boats head out to sea.

Today, we head to the health clinic where it is wall to wall adoptive families with their little ones awaiting their turn to have go through the various checks by doctors. We see three different doctors completing a series of test and exams. After a long morning, we head out for a walking along the gardens and a stop at the Starbucks for scones. We sit out in the courtyard, watching families walking back from the visits to the clinic and we munch on Guangzhou's version of a scone while catching up on our email and blogging. Still a bit of a difficulty here. There is a sense of relief that the health exam is behind us and we have only one more big appointment to go...the consulate. For now, we relax and move slowly as the heat is sweltering.



Nina and Gracie hang out at their own table sipping smoothies and chatting. How wonderful they are able to share this experience together. And how surreal to see them here in this place, experiencing it from a different perspective.

We are off for a nap and a rest until our much anticipated dinner this evening.