Catching Up
Wow. It's been a few weeks, hasn't it?
Our internet has been down and just got fixed. I have to tell you... it was such a blessing. I had no idea how completely addicted I was to the computer. The first day without DSL about killed me. I couldn't figure out what to do with myself. I just kept wondering around the house like a lost puppy. And then, by the second day, I was loving it. The internet, I have decided, is a "Family Time" drainer. Maybe it's not for you people out there with self-control, but I think I have a highly addictive personality and I find myself just surfing the net to pass time. It's disgusting. I hate it. I actually found myself wishing that the whole thing would just explode or something so that I would never have to get online again. I've really enjoyed the past week just playing with the kids and cooking and reading. It's been so great not being glued to a computer screen.. and the kids have loved it, too.
Alas, however, it came back on and although I've tried to pace myself, I spend waaaaaaaay to much time on here. I wish there was some way we could do without it, but we pay bills online and I can't drag the kids to the library every time a bill comes in. I think I just need to check my email in the morning and then turn the thing off and actually climb behind the desk and unplug it from the wall. I'm way too lazy to get back there to plug it in, so maybe that'll work.
Anyway, I've spent all morning online but for a very, very good reason....
WE'RE GOING TO INDIA!!!!
Yea!!! Nandini's passport arrived today and now we're just waiting for Texas to give us the clearance. That should be in 7-10 more days. My mom is going with me and since they set up at Canton First Monday every month, she won't be able to go until Nov 4th. However, the orphanage says not to plan on travelling until after the Diwali celebrations are over, so we're leaving on Nov 15 and coming back Nov 24th.
I am so excited!
But it's been really stressful. You'd think that hotels in New Delhi would be really cheap, but they are much more than what'd you pay for in the U.S. I am not kidding. A Motel 6 (if they had them) in New Delhi would run you around $180 or more a night. Seriously. We have never paid more than $70 a night for a hotel, but we're going to be paying $140 a night for a 2-star hotel which - according to reviews - is not that bad because there are only a few cockroaches in the room.
My mom is going to freak out.
She's never been to India before. She's a diabetic. She has asthma. Her whole immune system is messed up from chemo that she had 8 years ago. Her entire carry-on luggage is going to contain prescription medicine. She also does not like Indian food or the smell of Indian food. God help us. And I'm not being funny. Seriously. God, please help us! :-)
My dad is already having a fit over the hotels. I told him that I would be more than happy for him to pay the difference so that we could stay in a 5 star hotel at $400 or more a night. That shut him up real quick. But he is very worried. He and my mom have been together since 1965 and I don't think they've spent a night apart since I was born. It's going to be really hard for him (and for my mom).
At the same time, though, I think it'll be a great experience for my mom. I'm excited about her going with me. I really want her to see India. It's an amazing place... but such a difficult (emotional) place, too.
The first time I was in India, I was a traveler. The second time, I became a mother. Now, I'm going back AS a mother - and with the reality of how my childrens' lives would have turned out had they remained in an orphanage. This time, that reality is a part of me and I think I'll see so many things differently this time. It's going to be so hard looking at all the kids we leave behind - wondering if they will ever be adopted - wondering if they will ever know the love of a family - and wondering what will become of them when they "age out" of the orphanage. Will they become street children? Will the girls become prostitutes? (Which is a very real reality).
What happens to the children who never become part of a family?
So, I think it's just going to be very emotional. A bix 'ol mixture of giddy happiness at seeing my daughter for the very first time.... and feeling sad and guilty for tearing her away from the only people and surroundings she's ever known (and forcing her into a white family who speaks a different language and cooks foods she's never eaten and expects her to love us right away [but knows it won't happen]).
It's going to be a big ball of emotions. Wore than any PMS, I can assure you.
Aren't you glad you're not going with me? :-)
But the point is, we're getting Nandini. And I hate the computer.
There ya have it.
Noah's Mom
Our internet has been down and just got fixed. I have to tell you... it was such a blessing. I had no idea how completely addicted I was to the computer. The first day without DSL about killed me. I couldn't figure out what to do with myself. I just kept wondering around the house like a lost puppy. And then, by the second day, I was loving it. The internet, I have decided, is a "Family Time" drainer. Maybe it's not for you people out there with self-control, but I think I have a highly addictive personality and I find myself just surfing the net to pass time. It's disgusting. I hate it. I actually found myself wishing that the whole thing would just explode or something so that I would never have to get online again. I've really enjoyed the past week just playing with the kids and cooking and reading. It's been so great not being glued to a computer screen.. and the kids have loved it, too.
Alas, however, it came back on and although I've tried to pace myself, I spend waaaaaaaay to much time on here. I wish there was some way we could do without it, but we pay bills online and I can't drag the kids to the library every time a bill comes in. I think I just need to check my email in the morning and then turn the thing off and actually climb behind the desk and unplug it from the wall. I'm way too lazy to get back there to plug it in, so maybe that'll work.
Anyway, I've spent all morning online but for a very, very good reason....
WE'RE GOING TO INDIA!!!!
Yea!!! Nandini's passport arrived today and now we're just waiting for Texas to give us the clearance. That should be in 7-10 more days. My mom is going with me and since they set up at Canton First Monday every month, she won't be able to go until Nov 4th. However, the orphanage says not to plan on travelling until after the Diwali celebrations are over, so we're leaving on Nov 15 and coming back Nov 24th.
I am so excited!
But it's been really stressful. You'd think that hotels in New Delhi would be really cheap, but they are much more than what'd you pay for in the U.S. I am not kidding. A Motel 6 (if they had them) in New Delhi would run you around $180 or more a night. Seriously. We have never paid more than $70 a night for a hotel, but we're going to be paying $140 a night for a 2-star hotel which - according to reviews - is not that bad because there are only a few cockroaches in the room.
My mom is going to freak out.
She's never been to India before. She's a diabetic. She has asthma. Her whole immune system is messed up from chemo that she had 8 years ago. Her entire carry-on luggage is going to contain prescription medicine. She also does not like Indian food or the smell of Indian food. God help us. And I'm not being funny. Seriously. God, please help us! :-)
My dad is already having a fit over the hotels. I told him that I would be more than happy for him to pay the difference so that we could stay in a 5 star hotel at $400 or more a night. That shut him up real quick. But he is very worried. He and my mom have been together since 1965 and I don't think they've spent a night apart since I was born. It's going to be really hard for him (and for my mom).
At the same time, though, I think it'll be a great experience for my mom. I'm excited about her going with me. I really want her to see India. It's an amazing place... but such a difficult (emotional) place, too.
The first time I was in India, I was a traveler. The second time, I became a mother. Now, I'm going back AS a mother - and with the reality of how my childrens' lives would have turned out had they remained in an orphanage. This time, that reality is a part of me and I think I'll see so many things differently this time. It's going to be so hard looking at all the kids we leave behind - wondering if they will ever be adopted - wondering if they will ever know the love of a family - and wondering what will become of them when they "age out" of the orphanage. Will they become street children? Will the girls become prostitutes? (Which is a very real reality).
What happens to the children who never become part of a family?
So, I think it's just going to be very emotional. A bix 'ol mixture of giddy happiness at seeing my daughter for the very first time.... and feeling sad and guilty for tearing her away from the only people and surroundings she's ever known (and forcing her into a white family who speaks a different language and cooks foods she's never eaten and expects her to love us right away [but knows it won't happen]).
It's going to be a big ball of emotions. Wore than any PMS, I can assure you.
Aren't you glad you're not going with me? :-)
But the point is, we're getting Nandini. And I hate the computer.
There ya have it.
Noah's Mom
Comments
Oh, and I have a system. I do a lot of work (writing) on the computer, so I have time set aside for that. However, I have to "earn" fun time. For instance, a half hour of cleaning, earns me 15-20 minutes of surfing.
Sounds crazy, I know, but it keeps me in check.
Hope to see ya Thursday,
Julie
I got the thumbs up on the garage sale place...the church. Nov.3rd...sound good?
Tracy, thanks for your well wishes. We've decided to forgo the cockroach hotel and stay at an even cheaper hotel that probably has more cockroaches... but it's on the same street as McDonald's and Pizza Hut. (Better suited for my mom, maybe). :-)
Kenya, we're leaving even EARLIER, so we'll be back for Thanksgiving. Yea! (I'll post about it in my next post).
Julie, I went to WF, too, and I bet my purchase of Veggie Sticks can beat your purchase of Veggie Sticks!lol. So... whaddya think?
Aww, Cherie, that's fantastic! I'm so emotional right now... that made me cry. The whole thing has been so overwhelming. I feel so blessed.
See most of you tonight at Life Group!
Leslie :-)