Greeting from the Great White North-
Wow, what a difference from 90 degrees and muggy Saigon! At one point on the bus ride to the beach one of the dad's and I were having fun trying to remember some quotes from the movie Good Morning, Vietnam. The only ones we could come up with were these..."it's hot, damn hot, it's hot enough in my shorts that i can cook things in them, a little crotch pot cooking. it's so hot i saw one of those little guys in the orange robes burst into flames, it's that hot!" And Robyn Williams doing a Walter Cronkite inpersonation..."The weather outside is hot and shitty, with a crappy heat wave coming down from the north with more hot and shitty tomorrow" We were cracking ourselves up. Anyone remember any others?
As I look out the window it's snowing buckets and blowing all over the place. Even the dogs don't want to venture out in this storm!
Yesterday I was pretty gassed so I thought I should wait a day until I was coherent enough to post my last thoughts on this amazing experience.
First off, if I haven't made it clear to her or to any of you, you need to know that my sister is a rock star. The patience and grace Cindy has shown throughout this journey speaks volumes to the strength of her character and the beauty of her spirit. I count myself lucky to have her as a sister and blessed to call her friend.
Secondly I wanted to add my sincere respect for Cindy and any family who is grown by the process of adoption. It's a world away, literally, from how my own family started, yet every bit as miraculous. I was humbled and honored to witness the birth of three families.
Thirdly, or C: If you have the means or the opportunity, travel abroad. It's been eye opening to see how alike and how different we are. Spending this time in Vietnam showed me what a small place this world can be.
That's it....no more preaching from me....it's hard not to wax philosophic when you are part of something so cool, so much bigger than yourself.
Any now for something completely different....
Jet lag, airport delays and Montezuma revenge.....yes I was the lucky recipient of all of these joys. Is it Montezuma's revenge when you have been traveling in Vietnam? Maybe it should be called Ho Chi Minh's Wrath or something like that. Suffice to say if you need to locate a ladies room in the LA airport, I'm your gal. There was a brookstone store in my terminal. It had one of those massaging chairs. I sat in that bad boy for the full 15 minute massage. When the salesclerk gave me the hairy eyeball I just said...."I've been traveling since 5:30 last night." (this is at 3:30 in the afternoon) She smiled nervously and said,"take all the time you need" and walked quickly away. I must have looked pretty strung out!
My flight was delayed out of LA and again out of Vegas. Brian was disappointed that i didn't try the slots in the Vegas airport. I suppose I should have. At that point I was just trying to stay conscious. I landed in Minneapolis at 1:30 am. By the time we collected my luggage and got home it was 2:30. Home safe and sound, what else could I ask for?
I pretty much dropped my bags, kissed the boys while they slept and fell into bed. Ben was in bed with me saying good morning at 7:30. God, I love him, it's good to be home.
It's hard for me to fathom that Cindy, Kate and the other families are still there. Seeing more sights (and eatting more amazing food!) with out me. There is still no word on the satus of their paperwork. The gang is heading up to Hanoi tomorrow. If you want to keep up with Cindy's journey, there is a link to her blog to the right.
Thanks again for all the kind thought and prayers. Please remember Cindy and the other families, say an extra prayer for them that they all come home soon.
Much love and gratitude,
peace-
sandy
Wow, what a difference from 90 degrees and muggy Saigon! At one point on the bus ride to the beach one of the dad's and I were having fun trying to remember some quotes from the movie Good Morning, Vietnam. The only ones we could come up with were these..."it's hot, damn hot, it's hot enough in my shorts that i can cook things in them, a little crotch pot cooking. it's so hot i saw one of those little guys in the orange robes burst into flames, it's that hot!" And Robyn Williams doing a Walter Cronkite inpersonation..."The weather outside is hot and shitty, with a crappy heat wave coming down from the north with more hot and shitty tomorrow" We were cracking ourselves up. Anyone remember any others?
As I look out the window it's snowing buckets and blowing all over the place. Even the dogs don't want to venture out in this storm!
Yesterday I was pretty gassed so I thought I should wait a day until I was coherent enough to post my last thoughts on this amazing experience.
First off, if I haven't made it clear to her or to any of you, you need to know that my sister is a rock star. The patience and grace Cindy has shown throughout this journey speaks volumes to the strength of her character and the beauty of her spirit. I count myself lucky to have her as a sister and blessed to call her friend.
Secondly I wanted to add my sincere respect for Cindy and any family who is grown by the process of adoption. It's a world away, literally, from how my own family started, yet every bit as miraculous. I was humbled and honored to witness the birth of three families.
Thirdly, or C: If you have the means or the opportunity, travel abroad. It's been eye opening to see how alike and how different we are. Spending this time in Vietnam showed me what a small place this world can be.
That's it....no more preaching from me....it's hard not to wax philosophic when you are part of something so cool, so much bigger than yourself.
Any now for something completely different....
Jet lag, airport delays and Montezuma revenge.....yes I was the lucky recipient of all of these joys. Is it Montezuma's revenge when you have been traveling in Vietnam? Maybe it should be called Ho Chi Minh's Wrath or something like that. Suffice to say if you need to locate a ladies room in the LA airport, I'm your gal. There was a brookstone store in my terminal. It had one of those massaging chairs. I sat in that bad boy for the full 15 minute massage. When the salesclerk gave me the hairy eyeball I just said...."I've been traveling since 5:30 last night." (this is at 3:30 in the afternoon) She smiled nervously and said,"take all the time you need" and walked quickly away. I must have looked pretty strung out!
My flight was delayed out of LA and again out of Vegas. Brian was disappointed that i didn't try the slots in the Vegas airport. I suppose I should have. At that point I was just trying to stay conscious. I landed in Minneapolis at 1:30 am. By the time we collected my luggage and got home it was 2:30. Home safe and sound, what else could I ask for?
I pretty much dropped my bags, kissed the boys while they slept and fell into bed. Ben was in bed with me saying good morning at 7:30. God, I love him, it's good to be home.
It's hard for me to fathom that Cindy, Kate and the other families are still there. Seeing more sights (and eatting more amazing food!) with out me. There is still no word on the satus of their paperwork. The gang is heading up to Hanoi tomorrow. If you want to keep up with Cindy's journey, there is a link to her blog to the right.
Thanks again for all the kind thought and prayers. Please remember Cindy and the other families, say an extra prayer for them that they all come home soon.
Much love and gratitude,
peace-
sandy
2 comments:
I am with Bri on this one - how could you not have tried to pay off the whole trip with one punch of the slots! Glad you are safe. You are very missed!
Here I am the pathetic friend sitting home having my own little pity party because I cannot talk to you! I hope that the trip was everything you hoped it to be. It is such an amazing experience to go so far from home with a strange language, culture, and different food. All this to experience a child being born from your heart! Something that will stay with you for forever. I am so glad you were able to do this. How about we go back for you?!? Say a little girl.... Love and kisses
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