So Much World

A little hot congee and pickled vegetables for breakfast. Heavy on the congee, light on the vegetables for Mama, I’ll admit. Serenaded by American hits from the 90s. Halfway through “True Colors” it was time to return to a wet world of endlessly blaring horns and daring pedestrians to the civil office.

After we sealed all the signatures on our paperwork from Sunday (I was told to sign for Jacob as well; tried imagining how that would be legal anywhere in the States), with blue inked thumbprints, and promised to “love and protect her forever” and to “never abandon her”, we left with another stack of papers for the police station five minutes away. Our guide did all the work for us, applying for Rose’s passport. Then we were done.

A little Rose and Mama time in the hotel while Dad went tromping the streets and multi-rise shopping malls for lunch. After I opened the pack of washable markers for Rose, it’s like her senses exploded with the freedom of her new life, the endless possibilities. After she washed several pages with brightly colored squiggles, she switched on the hyper, almost shaking as she eagerly – with little smiles and gasps – rushed from one new thing to the next. Overload.

So when Jacob returned with Chinese burgers, soggy fries, and sodas, he gave her a bath while I removed almost everything to the walk-in closet. Taking it slow. So much world to explore, so much time to do it.