Last Call

This may be our final post before the trip home. It is 4 in the afternoon on Friday here in New Delhi, and after a little sight-seeing and time at the pool, we are about to embark on the adventure of PACKING!

Tess is an absolute delight. She is asleep after another bottle. We are going to fatten her up in a hurry, skinny little thing! Again for the 3 out of the 4 nights she slept for 8-10 hours without a peep. Although she does not like to be put down; when she is awake, she is being held. She loves to laugh and only cries when she needs to poop. I assume the stress of the last few days, the change of routine and diet may be contributing to it. But she will get on schedule very, very soon. Besides us, her thumbs are her best friends. I’m scared at times she may suck them off her hand. Or perhaps she will grow up with thumbs the size of coke bottles. Once we get home to all her toys, she will find other things to do with her hands. Ellen talked about her development stuff. She crawls great, can pick herself up and stand while holding onto something. She gets a thrill out of pulling herself up. She just laughs! Physically she is so tiny. I always joked how she will be in the land of giants and I ain’t kidding. In her eyes you see a sharp little booger. She knows exactly what is going on at every moment and you see her wanting to actively engage everything around her. And in her eyes you see a child that processes so much joy and happiness. Her face lights up when she is happy.

We wondered how she was going to adjust to her new life. The first 48 hours you could tell she had moments of confusion. She would look at us and stick out her lip and furrow her eyebrows. We felt so sorry for her. But the last 48 hours has seen nothing of the sort. She seems to expect us when she wakes up. She pleads for us to hug and kiss her. I wonder if once we get home she may go through a grieving process. For now she seems very happy.

There have been too many moments to begin to describe here. India, the little we experienced was like no other place on earth. The people have been so warm and inviting. I don’t know how many times we had to stop and pose for photos for complete strangers, but we were intrigued by them as much as they were us.

Did this trip exceed all expectations? Yes. Will we ever make this crossing again? You bet. We have promised so many people we would see them in ten years. We will be back. But first we are coming home. Home to our family and friends, co-workers and familiar faces. Each one of you got us here today. Each one of you are the reason we yearn to be back. I hope you enjoyed the trip with us. I hope we opened our hearts to you. All we need now is a US Pizza, cold Fat Tire, and a babysitter.