Let me explain ... the one thing Stephen and I REALLY looked forward to was walking through the doors after going through customs at JFK and seeing the faces of our parents, sisters and the signs and ballons welcoming Roman and Maxim home. We always thought of it as the "going into labor phone call" and well since we never got to do THAT ... we couldn't wait to share this final leg of our journey to become a family with those who had been through the worst with us!!!
I started planning our trip home from JFK in July 2009. I contacted various limo companies in New York and New Jersey for prices and found a company that was willing to work with us on pricing. Now if you are familiar with NYC and JFK airport you would understand that part of what I needed was a way to get our two families (parents and sister) from our house to JFK and then return with all of us back to the house. JFK is crazy to try and negotiate if you are not familiar with the airport so a limo was the best way. By August I had secured a limo company and being the Type A that I am I had every detail in place ... or so I thought! The very last email I sent before boarding the plane on October 24, 2009 was to the limo owner to finalize all details and giving him all contact information for my mother and sister and reminding him that they would all need to be picked up and that they would bring the car seats for the boys! Well as they say ... best laid plans and all that!!!
On November 14th ... we boarded Delta airlines in the Moscow airport to JFK in New York, with Maxim and Roman .. they were amazing on the 11hour flight!! They played, slept and ate and hardly ever made a fuss ... excellent travelers!!!
As soon as we landed in New York I turned on my cell and texted my sister ... EXPECTING she would text back "We're Here" ... instead I got "Call Me" ... this was NOT good!!!! In a nutshell the limo company SUCKED ... they never showed at the agreed time to pick up our parents and my sister and THEN tried to say that was NOT the plan ... well that's is to say until my sister started reading the emails back to him with the agreement! So at this point it was to late for any of that to happen and since they didn't have car seats in the Town Car for the boys the limo service was cancelled and Stephen's sister jumped into our Expedition with her husband and my mother and made the journey to JFK to get us! Again, Type A me had put the boys car seats into our truck before leaving just to get used to driving around with them ... GOOD THING, Huh?!?! The only problem ... we live 1.5hours with traffic from the airport, the plane was early so you guessed it ... we walked through the doors of customs with no signs, no greetings and no balloons .... we had our sons ... we were home and very, very tired and now we had to wait outside of departures for our ride entertaining two children who were probably just as confused as we were!!!!
WELCOME TO NEW YORK
No welcome home picture outside of customs for us BUT instead a more traditional New York picture ... us outside the departure doors in front of a trash can with all our luggage, strollers and the best gift anyone could ever wait for ... OUR SONS!!!! It wasn't the ending we imagined but at least it ended with us coming home with the two boys we had waited sooooo very long for and I hope someday when the boys read this blog they can find the humor in what on that day was just a real kick in the pants!!!
Now that we have been home for a year I've come to learn it doesn't matter so much as how you get there but just that you GET THERE. It took us longer than we ever could have thought to fulfill our dreams of having a family but WE DID. It was not the road we expected to travel for becoming parents but in the end WE DID ... we are parents and one year later we have experienced some AMAZING highs with our boys and along the way a few lows but HEY, isn't that what parenthood is all about!!! One year has passed ... there were some days I never thought we'd make it or I'd ever know what sleep was again, okay so I'm still not sure what sleep is but isn't that what those teenage years are for ...PAYBACK :-) .... just kidding ... we made it from start to finish and in the end that is what really matters!!!
6 comments:
Yuck! I was so happy to be home I nearly collapsed. I would have hated to wait for a ride. That said, we had no fanfare either. Both mine and Mike's parents met us that night at the airport. We fell into their arms and they drove the hour and a half home. Just perfect I think.
Melissa
Happy one year home!!! I'm so sorry about the limo company- what a mess. I'm so glad you got there and have your boys. What joy!
Happy One year home! I can sympathize. Ours wasn't what we expected either. We got held up in Moscow and missed our connecting flight. We had thought no one would be there to greet us since we were arriving home with our daughter the following day instead. Then, once we landed, they held us for hours at the airport due to a terrorist scare. I thought for sure everyone left, but instead we were greeted by camera crews wanting to hear our story. I also hope our daughter can laugh at her story : )
We flew in after midnight and I told our family not to come surprise us. Still both grandmoms and granddad came along with a cousin and that was enough for me! I looked horrible, Daniel looked exhausted and I cried when I saw my mom. Needless to say we don't have many great homecoming photos and that was okay with me b/c we were home!! Happy One Year!
Happy 1 year home! I understand but a little differently as we had a domestic adoption...and live far from all of our family. The hospital part was hard for me...no family or celebrations waiting for our "delivery". Just us praying it would all work out. Then not sure how long ICPC would be...no one even saw R until she was a month old. I dreamed of welcoming signs and balloons too...and family all excited that our baby was finally here...Your words are so true though...the important part is that we get there! Hugs, Lori
Oh, Christine...this post made me tear up. After all we go through in preparing EVERYTHING, all we ask is that others follow through on their part. How anti-climatic it must've been that the limo company didn't come through. But what touched me most was your last paragraph in which you summed up everything -- you're home with the boys and that is what matters most.
It stuns me that it's already been a year! Your blog is a wonderful testament to the love you have for your boys and they will enjoy reading about all your adventures one day in bringing them home and into your family forever.
Hugs,
Laura
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