What's a mom to do while waiting for her daughter in China? Well, look at her photos and memorize each one, of course. That includes looking at the faces of the other children in the pictures. Last night, something struck me when I looked at the class photos from a year ago compared to the one from Dava's daughter, Hannah's, party in December/January --Many of the classmates have changed -- I know that several of the older children have been adopted (a few boys and a girl that I know of, but I wonder about some of the older girls that I see in so many of the pictures).


In the most recent class picture, it now appears that Meiying is one of the oldest of that group.

That thought gave my heart a little "ping" and reminded me of something I read in 2005 when I was just beginning the paperchase for Eliza. It has always stuck with me:

The Waiting Child
--Debbie Bodie

I saw you meet your child today
You kissed your baby joyfully
And as you walked away with her
I played pretend you’d chosen me.

I’m happy for the baby, yet
Inside I’m aching miserably
I want to plead as you go by
“Does no one want a child of 3?”

I saw you meet your child today
In love with her before you met
And as I watched you take her out
I knew it wasn’t my turn yet.

I recognize you from last year!
I knew I’d seen your face before!
But you came for a second babe.
Does no one want a child of four?

I saw you meet your child today
But this time there was something new
A nurse came in and took MY hand
And then she gave my hand to you.

Can this be true? I’m almost six!
And there are infants here you see?
And then you kissed me and I knew
The child you chose this time was me.

(Note the first line of the LAST paragraph...) From first reading that in 2005 to today, 2009, here we are completing a dossier for a 6 year old.

The question I still keep getting from people is why Meiying wasn't adopted as a baby? I can't answer that. I'd like to believe it's because "we" were meant to be a family. Not every baby in China gets adopted; not every baby is "paper ready" by the orphanage; and orphanages only receive permission to adopt out a certain number of babies.