Our Journey to Carson

Reflections on this Adventure...

When we were totally bored in Hefei (which was MOST of the time), Meggie and I joked we should make a Top 10 List for the blog...things we are surprised by or things we miss. I started a list last week but never did blog it. Today I pulled that list out and thought, since the boys are at the zoo and Meggie's doing her homework, that I would entertain the folks at home with a few reflections.

So, here goes my Top 10 List of Things I Can't Wait To Get Home To...

10. Feeling like one in the crowd. While it was much worse in Hefei (being the only family in the entire hotel), I still feel like we stick out like a sore thumb here in China. We don't speak the language and it is abundantly clear that the Chinese people just don't "get" us. I'm tired of being stared at!! I just want to get home and be a normal family in our normal subdivision, living a normal life.

9. The telephone. As much as I HATE the phone...except for my cell phone with the hands-free headset, which gets me through many a long drive...I miss the freedom to pick up the phone, make a local call, and get someone on the other line who can talk to me in MY language!! The lack of telephone access is sort of making me feel like our family has been placed in the witness relocation program. The isolation is very weird and I want to feel "connected" again...thank God I at least had the Internet over here!!!!

8. My minivan. I know Meggie thinks it's a "hoopty," but I miss the independence of going to the garage, hopping in my van, and driving somewhere on my own! No more buses, taxi cabs, airplanes...I just wanna drive my minivan!!! Anywhere!! Right NOW!!!!

7. Doing laundry. We have spent a small fortune getting our clothes laundered on this trip...and I'm sick of wearing the same four outfits!...and I just want to get home and re-wash everything in Tide, use fabric softener, and fold them myself! Call me crazy, but I LOVE doing laundry and I have really missed the clean smell of familiar laundry products. I want to sort, wash, dry, and fold my very own clothes!! (Guess how I'll be spending my Friday this week!?!?)

6. My TV shows. I miss Grey's Anatomy, Dancing with the Stars, Private Practice, reruns of Gilmore Girls, and the tons of sitcoms I would randomly watch to kill down time or avoid writing papers for school. There are only two English-speaking channels here in Guangzhou (CNN and Star Movies) and there were only two in Hefei -- and they always have Chinese subtitles. I miss our big screen TV. I want to sit on my couch and watch my DVR'd shows...and I need to figure out how in the world Sabrina Bryan got kicked off Dancing with the Stars but Marie Osmond is still going strong!!!

5. My schedule. I want to sleep on MY schedule, eat on MY schedule, and have the freedom to do what I want! I want to get Carson on a consistent schedule so he'll nap at the same time, eat on a predictable pattern, and get the full 12 hours of nighttime sleep his little cranky self so desperately needs! I want to have the time to have lunch with friends, run to the grocery, visit the chiropractor (oh, do I need a Smackdown!!). Heck, I'm even looking forward to going back to school next week...and so is Meggie!!!

4. My shower. The water here in Guangzhou -- while it appears clean -- smells like river water. I half expect an old boot, a spare tire, or a dead fish to be in the shower with me it smells so bad! While we have been using the same soap and shampoo products here that we use at home, my hair is so dry and nasty it feels like straw!! Can't wait to take a L-O-N-G shower in my own bathroom back home!!!!

3. Family and friends. (Sorry you all didn't make #1, but at least I was able to contact you through e-mail and the blog!) I want to hug people who speak perfect English and understand me and my flaky ways! I want to go to Church and personally thank everyone who prayed for us during this ordeal...both before we traveled and while we were here. And I want Carson to meet his grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and soon-to-be friends!


2. The beds. I miss my king-sized pillow top mattress and my body pillow! The beds here are rock-hard, and I am not exaggerating! They are so rock-hard that last night I chose to sleep on the floor on the couch cushions...best sleep I've had in two weeks!

1. The food. I want to cook. I want to walk right into my fully stocked kitchen and decide what I want to eat from a ton of choices. I want to drink ice water with ice all the way to the top of the glass! I want Diet Coke, not Coke Light with Lemon....blecchhhh!! I want a salad! And I NEVER want to see another McDonald's green bean pie as long as I live! While I didn't lose any weight over here, I FULLY expect to gain a bit once we get home....gotta make up for lost time!!

Honorable Mentions of Things I Can't Wait To Get Home To include:

A. Easy stroller access. Handicap and stroller ramps are rare around these parts and I'm sick of carrying Carson's stroller up and down steps! I want to be able to take Carson somewhere by myself with the stroller and not have to count on the kindness of strangers to help me get him in and out of buildings that have steps in front but no ramp...very inconvenient!!

B. Our State's very strict no-smoking law. This morning a man got in the ELEVATOR with us smoking a cigarette...in the ELEVATOR!!! Gimme a break! I have used my inhaler more times during the past two weeks than I've used it since my asthma diagnosis five months ago! I want to breathe clean air again!


C. My electric toothbrush. Anyone who uses an electric toothbrush will understand...a medium bristle brush doesn't hold a candle to the clean feeling I get from my electric toothbrush! Since every electric device needs an adapter or converter here, the computer and DVD player got top billing and the electric toothbrush was left at home.

D. Physical and occupational therapy for Carson. He's a smart kid who has learned lots of odd ways to adapt to his physical condition...I can't wait to see how much he flourishes once he gets the medical care he needs!!



E. Swimming laps at the YMCA. Not only are my swimming sessions good physical exercise, but the mental benefits I get from them get me through my stressful times. I REALLY need to swim 25 laps in a heated indoor pool...ASAP!!!


F. Shopping with U.S. dollars. Getting money exchanged into yuan, then doing the mental gymnastics to figure out what purchases are ACTUALLY costing us, is getting hard to bear. I just want to head into a store and purchase my items with money that makes sense...and get change in money that makes sense.


Getting the picture that we wanna come home?? Well, you're right! I could continue this list forever, probably, but suffice it to say -- while I am thankful to the Chinese government that they placed Carson into our family -- we are so OVER this trip! Just the oath this afternoon, then packing, then the trip home...no sweeter words were EVER typed!!

Counting down the hours...