Well daughter #2 made it home safe and sound from China. The flight home was totally full, and we had 3 seats for the 4 of us. Needless to say it was a long and tiring. When we landed I threw up my hands and cheered. Due to the changes in U.S. law, she was now automatically a citizen.

A major highlight of the trip was that daughter #1 and I were able to head down into a 3 year old female panda's enclosure (she was actually born on the same day as my daughter) and stand right behind her. The trainer distracted the panda by handing her apples while we stood there for a few seconds. Being curious, my daughter reached down (I was holding her in my arms) and started to pet the panda. There was a cheer from the crowd and the panda stopped and looked up at us. Which I wasn't sure was a good or bad thing. The trainer quickly stepped in and handed her another apple, and she went back to munching on her treats. Our encounter was over, and we headed back up the stairs to exit the enclosure and rejoin our group. What an awesome experience!

There was such joy for coming home. We were looking forward to returning to a normal routine, and getting down to business on figuring out how our new daughter worked.

While checking email, I read the tragic news that The Thing That Is Cancer had taken Lillian while we were gone. One minute there was joy and relief, the next minute there was sorrow and pain. Lillian was a part of our first trip to China. I remembered how she cried when she took her daughter in her arms - she had radiated with such happiness and love. She had been the first new mother. And now she was gone. What really hurt was the knowledge that her daughter had now lost two mothers. Such sorrow.

Stumbling from the office and drying my eyes, I relayed the news to my wife. There was an "oh no!" and stunned silence. I then walked over to pick up my daughter, who smiled at me. Which meant she was hungry. Or maybe she needed to be changed. Or ... it really didn't matter what it meant. She had smiled, and it was beautiful. I was looking forward to figuring out how she worked, and to seeing more of those smiles. Such joy.

And life goes on ...

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Published: (2006-01-03 16:38:26.0)