Still waiting ... and Hoping ...

I came back from being away for a week for Thanksgiving and checked my answering machine first thing, certain it would contain a message from Nan about our departure date. To my surprise, there was nothing there. It was too late to call her, so I called her yesterday morning. Would you believe, no date has yet been set? The hold-up is a paper that needs to go from the court (in Pune) to the orphanage (in Pune). It's been two weeks. The paper still hasn't reached the orphanage.

Once they have it, though, it's a simple matter of the director of the orphanage signing it, and then we're good to go. The paper (in case you're wondering) just says that if for any reason the adoption of Hope in the U.S. doesn't go through, the orphanage will assume responsibility for her. India has designated Nan & Bruce to be Hope's guardians. Actual adoption will take another year or so in the U.S.

In any case, there's every reason to believe we will be able to pick her up on December 10th, as planned. We just need to get the "go" signal from India to make our arrangements. We're hoping to get that GO today!!

Hoping plans settle out soon ...

It's taking longer than we expected to set the date for our travel. Given how things have gone so far, why would that be a surprise? At present, it looks as if we'll be spending a couple of days in Pune doing our sightseeing and shopping before we pick Hope Aradhana up. The days after that will mostly be spent jumping through all the bureaucratic hoops and administrivia to get permission to bring her home.

It's looking like a departure date in the neighborhood of Dec 5 or 6, and total trip time of somewhat less than 2 weeks. We had intended to fly on Northwestern, but even with their adopters discount of 50%, the airfare is over $2000 each. Nan's pretty sure we can beat that by quite a bit, so we'll shop around. British Airways is a possibility. I have the fondest memories of a BA trip where the attendant who did the routine announcements about seat belts and emergency exits was rude and sarcastic and completely hilarious. I bet the entire plane listened to his entire shpiel, because we all were laughing so hard.

Have you had an otherwise mundane plane trip transformed by an excellent airline employee? Add it in my comments, I'd love to hear it!

The Hopeful Hope-less Family

Nanette, Faith, Bruce
(Shih Tzu Teddie not shown)

Hope's dress

As Hope's soon-to-be aunt, I am so looking forward to establishing a relationship with her in the days after we arrive in India. What kind of little person will she be, I wonder? Will she be affectionate or thoughtful or temperamental? Will she be happy or frightened? Will she like the foods we offer her? Will she be fascinated with my blonde hair or will it just seem weird to her?

Her new home will be vastly different from anything she has ever known. Nan has taken great care to make room for her, clearing out the current toy room of any toys that wouldn't be safe for her, rearranging a loft room for Faith's play area and moving big-girl items up there, setting up a bed in Faith's room so now it's the girls' bedroom, and laying in all the necessary items for care of a toddler. She's been at it for months, and now everything is in perfect readiness ... including Faith, who can't wait to have a little sister!

Me, I've been looking at dresses. It's the privilege of aunthood, to ignore all the practical stuff and just look at dresses. Frilly dresses, velvet dresses, sun dresses, play dresses. Pink, purple, yellow, green, and all the shades in between. With the dark coloration of these girls, you can do some outrageously bright colors or deep colors. It's so much fun! I'm bringing this dress with us on the trip. It's the only one I bought that is small enough for her tiny frame. And she will no doubt only wear it once or twice in India, and then never again, because when we return to the Northeast, it will be winter. That's OK! I'm sure some other little girl will enjoy wearing it. Or maybe it can be tailored for a life-size doll. Whatever.

When we return to the States, she'll be living about a 5-hour's drive away. We'll be home for a couple of weeks, and then T & I will head south to spend a few days with them at Christmas. Will she remember me? I'm a little sad that we live so far apart. But she will have such a happy life! And someday maybe she will read this little blog. Now that's a happy thought!

Our Essential Hope

Click any picture to see it larger ...

Hope at one year

Hope has been on our hearts and in our minds ever since we learned she was to be ours, right around her first birthday. "We" is her new mom & dad, Bruce & Nanette, big sister Faith, and of course all of us in the next concentric circle of family. All of the paperwork was done and submitted early this summer, and since July we've been in a bed-of-nails, bite-your-fingernails sort of waiting state. Each month that goes by has made the waiting harder, as she grows older, takes her first step, learns her first words, and becomes, no doubt, more attached to her surroundings and caregivers.

16 months

Hope lives in an orphanage in Pune, India. By all reports she is thriving and healthy. She is thin, as you can see, and small for her age, which is not uncommon for kids in overseas orphanages. Big sister Faith came to us in the same state, and she's now filled out and shot up and setting records for sociability and reading skills in the first grade. We have no reason to believe little Hope won't do the same.


The last I heard, our plans are to be in India about two weeks, arriving in Mumbai, travelling immediately to Pune to pick up Hope and spend a couple of days there, and then on to New Delhi to complete the rest of the paperwork needed to bring Hope home. At that time, Bruce & Nan will be her guardians. Official adoption will happen some time later in the U.S.

I am privileged and thrilled beyond belief to travel with Nanette to pick up this little treasure. We're so excited to have her for her first Christmas!! I'm glad that she will have a couple of weeks to settle in to her new home and family before the Langille hoards descend upon her for the holidays. It all may be a bit too new and scary for her ... or she may have adapted beautifully and be just as outgoing as her big sister. We'll see! What I do know is that she's going to a wonderful family, with a mom, dad & sister who will love her and nurture her. She's one lucky little girl. Not that luck had anything to do with it. :o)

You might want to bring ...

A step-down converter
They come in a variety of wattages, so you’ll want to know what appliances you’ll be bringing and what wattage they require. For instance, some hairdryers can pull as much as 1800 watts (more?), so you’ll need a converter that can handle high wattage and also lower wattage for a travel clock radio or an electric shaver.

I found a great converter kit with a set of adapters on Ebay for a total cost of just under $20 including shipping.It can manage 50W to 1600W. That about does it for me! Of course, I haven’t used it, yet, so we’ll soon see if it was a bargain. The one linked above is just an example.

Good headphones and an adapter that will let them fit into the funny little two-pronged outlets in planes.

Snacks for the long flight and layovers, plus more for your stay.

A good travel guide book