Day 6

….is it home time yet?

Well, not that China isn't a fascinating place, surely it is, but
because this is no holiday, time has grinded to a painful stop.
Nanchang is rich with tradition and holds fascinating historical
importance but we're not able to take full advantage of it do to
mainly the weather (cold and raining every day) and being busy keeping
a 16 month old content.

Before coming here I had a few primary concerns. 1) that the boys
would be okay without us, 2) the adoption process would be smooth
legally, but more importantly an easy transition for Grace emotionally
3) I might gain control over my bladder to avoid any public washrooms,
and 4) I wouldn't starve to death. James of course, only worried
about the first 2.

Obviously, the first two carried much more weight than the others, and
so far (touch wood) are non-issues. Admittedly, Patrick seems to be
out of control, Ian has lost all patience at being "the man of the
house" and Eric quite willing to take over from Ian and tell everyone
what to do. Clearly a 14 year old boy is not mature enough to be a
parent (but then again, many 30 year old men aren't either), but with
everything in life comes growth and experience so hopefully my future
daughter-in-law will appreciate all the training we gave him.

Grace is holding up as well as can be expected. She has bonded with
James and is playing strange with me. It puts added pressure on James
but he can handle it and I think he likes all the attention from his
little girl. He's given up on Mandarin and is speaking his broken
Cantonese to her, both of which our guide tells us are completely
foreign to her foster parents dialect. My thoughts are then to just
speak English to her since none of the boys speak Cantonese, but
whatever keeps him happy is good for me.

I am proud to say however that I have mastered the public washroom
fear and even used a Porta-potty in the subway. We all know how bad
those are at the best of times but I paid my 2 Yuan, and without
incident managed to hit the hole in the floor and walked out of there
with a big smile on my face. I'm not as spoiled as James keeps
inferring.

As far as the food goes, I've resigned myself to being satisfied with
a good breakfast, Pringles for lunch and tea for dinner. We also
found M and M's at a grocery store, so those are my protein for the
day which I treat myself to at 2 o'clock in the morning when I'm awake
and waiting for breakfast. The best part though is I'm already down
almost 7 lbs. and at this rate I might hit 15 by the time I get home.
ALLELUIA!!!

I'm looking forward to getting back to Beijing and doing some shopping
for the kids. Shopping is so therapeutic especially when it doesn't
break the bank! First thing though, more luggage!

This is a picture of us with the director of the orphanage when she
officially became our daughter.