Sunday, October 21, 2007

She's out there


It's hard to believe, but I'm a Mom. I don't have a child to hold, diapers to change or cries to comfort but I'm someone's Mom. On October 1, 2007, I got the call and the email that ended over a year of planning and paperwork. I started working with New Beginnings Adoption Agency to find this child back in the summer of 2006. Now she is waiting for me in Vietnam and I am waiting for her in New York. As someone wise once said, "The waiting is the hardest part" and don't I know it. I found reserves of patience I never knew I had. I somehow found a calm center in a storm of bureaucracy. I knew this day would come, but I did not know how I would feel when I opened the email and saw her face. She is about 6 weeks old in this picture- a healthy 9 pound girl who was named Thi Hien at birth but will be known as Phoebe from now on. She also has a Hebrew name; Ahava Mattea which means "beloved gift' or 'precious gift'. She is indeed that and so much more. She will have all these identities to tap into as she grows, but for now, she's just a little girl out there who has no idea how much love she's in for.