Four, three, two......

Today is the last day of summer break. I have mixed emotions. I am elated I will have time to myself, to write again, clean my house in peace, and finished delayed projects, but my house is going to be so quiet! Sidney starts preschool three mornings per week, and I remember, the two years Eli was in preschool were some of the fastest I can remember. I blinked my eyes, and he was in kindergarten. But, I also know I’ve waited a long time for this new chapter to begin. Sidney doesn’t actually start until a week from Monday, but Eli’s shipping out on Monday morning. Woohoo! 

With all this spare time, I plan on writing again, but not before all of our “after China” projects are completed. Notice we aren’t breaking any records for speed, starting the projects 2 years after travel. A new deck door was already installed in the back of the house. Our next project is to pull up our carpet and expose the hardwood underneath. Our house was built in the early 1900’s, and we assume it’s original. So, tomorrow is the big reveal. Today, it looks like someone took my living room, threw it in the air, and let it land. 

My new favorite place to hang out.

The beginning of this week was less chaotic, visiting a local children’s museum. One of the exhibits featured cultures from around the world, including China. In each section, the kids could push buttons and hear spoken language. As Eli pushed buttons to hear phrases, in Chinese, he enthusiastically told his sister. Sidney timidly stood outside the area with her hands over her ears, frantically waving, signaling Eli to stop the recording. An instance occurred on Monday which was much the same. Tom was getting his hair cut. His beautician is Korean. I had to drop Sidney to Tom anyway, so I met him at the shop. As his beautician, an adoptee in her 50’s, warmly said hello, Sidney began shutting down.

And because I insisted on having my bunny in another photo.

Today, as I worked to take everything from our living room into the kitchen, we ran across the digital album from travel. Sidney took immediately interest. She was fine running through all the photos of Mommy and Daddy in Beijing. But, when we got to the actual day we met, she began waving her arms again and told me she didn’t like the people in the photos. Further in and more pictures of Chinese people, and she continued, commenting”these people hurt me. These people don’t like me.” I am very grateful to have even a preliminary understanding of what is frightening her. It allowed me to reassure her, telling her I don’t know what happened because mommy wasn’t there in the orphanage, but now, she is safe and nobody will EVER hurt her. What a comfort to know we are on track to better understanding of what is going on in her mind.