Back to "Normal"

Jadyn has returned from China but is having trouble returning to "normal" life. As soon as she got home she gave us the play-by-play as we looked through her pictures. The first few days they did some sight-seeing - The Great Wall of China, The Forbidden City, 2008 Olympic Buildings, and a Flying Acrobat Show - to name a few. Not only did she see these beautiful artworks but she also learned the history behind them. She described the detailed paintings on the buildings in The Forbidden City. She shared with us that it took 14 years of slave labor to complete the entire city and that it was created for one emperor. 14 years!!! (Hopefully I got all the facts right.) She was impressed by the creativity and the effort! We were impressed! We were also amazed to realize it is simply a tourist sight - no one resides there anymore. All that work - just to look at!? Interesting! The artist in her liked it.

But none of these sights, no matter how grand, artistic, or expensive compared to Sage, Vincent, Landon, Angel, Josiah, Claire, Reagan and all the other kids she spent the rest of the week loving. She knew each child's special need, their laugh, and the sound of their voice. She knew where different children had been abandoned, which children had heart defects, which ones had been matched with families, which ones couldn't walk, and special feeding instructions for children with cleft palates. She's not crying because she misses The Great Wall! She's not looking at the pictures of the acrobat show over and over again so she doesn't forget the costumes and amazing acts of bravery. No, she misses the people that she shared her life with. The sweet kids that she most likely will never see again. Tonight we looked at the pictures again, and she cried, again. As a mom, I ache for her. As a mom, I hope her life never returns to "normal."