One year ago, on May 25, we met Lucy in a chaotic room in Guangzhou, China. In some ways it feels like she's been with us forever and in other ways, as though we've just met. She is thriving. To ponder the significance of the year mark, Will and I are both struck by the courage and strong sense of self with which Lucy marches into life.
Her English is on par with any child about to turn 4. She is about ready to learn a pedal bike and is one of the best gymnasts in her class. She is starting to seek out friendships with other little girls. Her separation anxiety and tantrums are very rare these days.
Although she easily gets sniffles and tummy aches, she has grown 3.5 inches and gained seven pounds in a year. She eats so many foods now that she would not even look at one year ago.
To mark the year, we celebrated the first annual, "family day". We thought that it was important to mark the completion of our family, the miracle of finding Lucy and our trip to China. So we watched videos of our trip and also the orphanage in Maoming. (Lucy seemed interested, but registered almost no emotion) Then we ate cake with candles for all, and opened one present for each child.
My life has grown beyond imagination with Lucy's arrival. Not only have we gained a child, we also gained a new culture. I can't say that is has always been easy - any child who has spent the first three years in an orphanage, is going to have some issues. In meeting those challenges, I have been stretched in ways I didn't know i could stretch. And like any challenge, I'm a much stronger person for it.
One surprise for me has been my own attachment process toward Lucy. Perhaps I was naive to think that I would bond with her with the same speed I attached to my bio kids. It did take time. I was less patient and less sympathetic with her and I was very hard on myself for that - very hard to admit. But I can say that after a year, I don't feel much discrepancy any more. I have bonded and I can't imagine life without my Lucy.
