A sweet, life-changing, crazy, fun, emotionally exhausting dream. It doesn't help that we've had hardly any sleep since we've been home. Poor Ever has been teething and vomiting since we've been back. I was hoping the adjustment period would be a lot shorter...
We left Hong Kong on Tuesday (Feb 24th) around 6pm and arrived in Aotearoa 10am on Wednesday (Feb 25th) Thankfully, losing a day seems irrelevant when you don't actually know what day it is. Haha!
The trip was easier this time around. Ever slept on and off and we now knew what we could do to entertain her in a small enclosed space... and the airplane peeps gave us a baby bassinet that *just* fit her. So way less stress-mess than our trip over to H.K where The Hubband and I had to be her makeshift 'bed'. Passing our bebe-parcel when either we lost feeling in parts of our body or we had to go toilet. (It also helped knowing that at the other end wasn't a first meeting with a long-lost B-Ma in a foreign country. [winky wink])
We arrived to sunshine so bright it almost blinded us. The sky so clear. The air so fresh... We immediately peeled off our airplane-scented layers and soaked up a few rays. Finding a taxi big enough to accommodate us and our luggage was a challenge. In Hong Kong they pretty much said, yes, to everything. Instead we had to go down the line of gruff drivers who didn't want to drive the 10 or so minutes down the road to our whare. Finally a van rocked up. Chur!
15 minutes and NZ$50(!?!) later we piled out in front of our tiny whare. It was surreal. Yesterday we were in Hong Kong surrounded by grey and people, now there is so much green, and not another soul within ears reach. After a brief cup of tea with Nanabear she bid us adieu. She was crashing at my sisters house for the night, as they were away, then driving home in the morning.
After that our life got pretty much back to normal (apart from the abnormal amount of washing! Argh!) The Hubband went back to work the next day, Ever didn't sleep. I didn't sleep. I did housework... I'm not sure where we go from here? Maybe, it's better to not know since this entire journey has been a nonstop ride of surprises.
I know I am definitely not the same as when I left. God has restored so much to me in such a short time. After 31 years in the orphan wilderness I have now found a sense of peace. I'm not saying everything in my life is now peachy-keen jellybean. It is more of a mindset shift. The way I see myself now has a point of view. A back bone. It comes from a solid foundation instead of from a little girl lost and alone. I still have moments where my reactions are still tinged with this sadness and rejection, but on a whole I feel like the next chapter of my journey is being shaped from a new perspective of myself. A respect to who God has created me to be.
I am Sama. I am Sunshine. I am a child of God. I am a child of my B-Ma's. I am my Mama's daughter. I am a Wife. I am a Mother. I am a lover of finding the extraordinary out of the ordinary. I am Me, and don't'cha forget it! [winky wink]
There's no place like home, there's no place like home...
xo
Sunshine
Ps. I want to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who gave generously whether through 'Give A Little', prayers, kind words and of course, the amazing generosity from my bio-whanau while we were in Hong Kong. I will NEVER forget everyone's input into this trip of a lifetime. Thank you ALL from the bottom of my heart. Arohanui.
