Reagan, our Beijing guide, showed us off at the Beijing Airport. She did a wonderful job in both acting as tour guide and shepherding us through much of the adoption process. We can only imagine how much work goes on behind the scenes to make it happen so smoothly. We left with all our necessary documents for Cameron’s visa, as well as the many needed for the Consulate Appointment. Cameron was quite rambunctious during the flight. We had given him some medicine for motion sickness and, although he had his “bag” all prepared, it was not used at all! I think I pulled a bit of my hair out as Cameron simply cannot sit still for more than about 10 seconds, nor can he not manipulate every object around him, regardless of appropriateness or effect on others. So…..window blinds kept going up and down, the television/radio controller got fully poked, prodded, buttons punched, put in holder and taken out hundreds of times, pushing the seat up and back repeatedly, pushing the seat in front of him so much and with such force that the lady in front finally said something to us. His television wasn’t working properly after takeoff…….I think he probably burned the motor out before we ever left the ground! However, we cut him a lot of slack, as this is so new to him, and our flight into Guangzhou was otherwise smooth. Even if the little guy does something to upset you, you can’t stay upset with him for long, as he’s so darn cute and charming. He wants to help us so much and tries so hard to do so. For example, after dinner on the plane he started piling our dinner plates together and then pointed to the aisle. Thinking he needed to go to the bathroom, we moved over to allow him access to the aisle. He then proceeded to get the plates and began taking them to the back of the plane. We grabbed him before he got out of reach and asked him what he was trying to do and he replied that he was taking our plates to the back where the stewardesses were so that they could get cleaned and wouldn’t be in our way. We promptly told him that we could stay in our seats and they would come by for them in a few minutes.
Not a lot to tell you in this post, as yesterday was a pretty basic traveling day. Today we have Cameron’s medical exam this morning, and he may need to get a few shots. We’ll see how he handles that.
Since there is not much new to report, I have a few minutes to answer some questions people have asked. The stuffed panda bear that Cameron is holding in several pictures was given to him by Reagan when we got to Beijing. He really likes to keep the panda with him at most times. I’m not sure why Cameron and most Chinese do not appear to be smiling in the pictures we took. I hadn’t thought of that, but it may be cultural. For Cameron, many of the pictures were taken at sites that were of interest to his new parents but not him, so I think his lack of smiling has more to do with boredom and a desire to be doing something more geared toward his interests – play! Pizza Hut – yes, he seemed to like it, but it was only a Cheese Lover’s pizza, and they don’t use much cheese over here. In fact, you hardly ever see it. The omelets that the Wangfujing Grand Hotel had so little cheese in them that you would swear they forgot to add it! He seemed to struggle more with how to eat the pizza. He decided on a fork and knife, but not being very proficient at either, this proved to be rather ineffective, although entertaining to watch. We tried to help him, but he decided he was going to do it his way, so we let him. Oh yeah, he ate all the ice in his coke with a fork. He scooped them out and ate every one! As far as I know, he has not eaten any of the more colorful (and flavorful?) creature-on-a-stick items I detailed and gave pictures of last week.
Somebody asked a few more basic questions about Cameron himself. He was born on April 6, 1999. He was abandoned at a closed restaurant outside Beijing. We know very little of the other circumstances surrounding him, but some of the newer paperwork we have been given has more details than we had previously, including the name of the person who found him. We also do not know why his parents would find it necessary to leave their son for others to find and raise. Nevertheless, he has a bright future now. Obviously, there are many possibilities as to the “Why?” that we will likely never know. He was born with bilateral club feet which were surgically repaired at some point, but are not even noticeable now. He runs and jumps like a monkey, without a hint of pain or any sort of limp. He never complains nor shows any other signs of pain. Even when I tried to nonchalantly look for a scar, I found it barely noticeable from as close as a foot away. And he loves his sandals (the ones he was presented to us in)!!!
As for our return home. We are set to return to Tulsa at 2155 on a United Airlines flight this Thursday. Needless to say, it will be an extremely long day – 3 flights totaling 19 hours in the air, 7 hours of layovers, and the necessity of getting to the airport early to clear customs, immigration, etc. I’d rather get knocked upside the head by a hammer!
A quick shout-out to my sister Allison. She and her husband John are expecting their new little one at any time, as today is her due date. Let me be among the first to welcome Kenley Marie Geary into the world!
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