In two weeks we will be on the way – literally on the way to China. For all the planning, researching, and coordinating that we did ahead of time, it still seems like there is so much to do before we leave. First there are the basic to do items like pack, get immunized, arrange for someone to drive us to the airport and pick us up.
Second, though, are the larger things that I’m not sure we’ll ever get totally done. We will just do the best we can when we have to. I’m talking about things like learn Chinese (I have a whopping two Chinese phrases in my arsenal, Hello, and I love you.), prepare to help a one year old boy adapt to a new family and life, prepare a nine year old girl and a five year old boy to adapt to a new younger brother and a new life. The feeling is very similar to taking Mer to the hospital for Abbie’s birth. On one hand there was so much more to be done. On the other hand I was completely ready to be a dad. That’s how it is now – there is so much unfinished work to be done, yet I am totally ready for this new chapter in our lives.
On a totally lighter note, packing for a trip like this is certainly presenting its challenges for me. In a nut shell, here is the scoop. I can check one bag that weighs no more than 44 pounds. Plus I am allotted one carry on… for three weeks. For some of you reading this, that is no big deal. But, I have to admit, when it comes to packing, I pack like a girl. Yes, when the family goes on vacation, there is the family’s luggage, and then there is Tom’s luggage. If I might need it, I pack it. I know full well that much of what I bring will never even be touched, but it’s worked so far… until now.
So, here is what I have figured weighs forty four pounds: two pairs of long pants, three pairs of shorts, three tee-shirts, two polo/Hawaiian shirts, one long sleeved cotton shirt, a Gortex rain coat, one pair of flip flops, swim-trunks, a week’s worth of under-britches and socks, a ball cap, and some miscellaneous toiletries they won’t let me carry on the plane. (Keep in mind heavier items like the laptop, iPod, bible, camera, connection cables, etc., adoption documentation will all be in my carry on.) It seems like that will work, but I just can’t get me head around only bringing forty four pounds of stuff. Oh well, if I need to bring more stuff, I’ll just put it in Mer’s bag – she’s bound to have lots of extra room.
