Our Adoption Journey Part 1
****To Honor my daughter's 5th Birthday,
I thought it was a good time to revisit our adoption story.
It's not all of it, of course, but the best part.****
(Every name has been changed except my husband's and myself)
So Friday March 18th we got "the call". It was Mary saying, "I think you better come, the baby dropped and my contractions are frequent and intense". Fire lit under Brian's ass. We packed from 10pm to 1am and left at 9am the next day. Dropped the dogs in Connecticut and drove to my other sister's house all day Saturday. Made great time on I81 and was thrilled to see the snow get less and less on the way down. Many things in bloom in Virginia. Had a great visit there. Met my new-ish great nephew and was amazed when my niece put her bare hand under his mouth to catch spit up. I wondered if I would ever get to that point.
We had a great night and day there and proceeded to Chapel Hill to stay with my cousin and her family. We had a great meal, drank way to much red wine, slept like King and Queen of Adoptionland in our private suite in the west wing of their magnificent home. Played cards with a cutie pie and watched something called Dino Posse??! I didn't really get it, maybe you need to be 4 to really understand.
Worked Monday morning with my beer drinking friends in Germany (even though I understand Czechoslovakia drinks more beer than Germany per capita) who are getting increasingly mad at me for the poor progress of the never-ending Cloud Storage Project from hell. I don’t blame them, it isn't going well and I don't know why. Considering calling the work thing quits for this trip, decide against it.
Travel to South Carolina and oh the Crepe Myrtle! Oh the Wisteria! Oh the blooms, the weather...ahhhhhh
Snow? What snow? It’s snowing in NY today? Who cares! Not me, I’m a mom to be without the worry of having to do that work and pain myself. I am in a new to you car that is decked out and life is good..finally until.....
we get to the hotel
Now let’s preface this by saying I researched it heavily. The Superplus Value Stay is an extended stay hotel that came in at $37 a night. 10 nights for under $500! Wow what a deal. Reviews said, 'staff is great, it is run down but immaculate', these things are all true! however...they couldn’t accommodate us because we were 2 days early. After much rearranging, they managed to put together a handicap room for us. We were so grateful! Everyone was soooo accommodating and kind and excited for the new baby on the way. I wasn't thrilled when we arrived because there was a clear riff raff staying there. I don't know if they were criminals, just out of half-way house (not that there is anything wrong with that!) or construction workers (or maybe all 3!) but I wasn't thrilled at our neighbors.
The room was horrendous. It was clean but not clean if that makes sense. Toilet was spotless white but the wall behind it was stained wallpaper from the 70's. The room hadn't been painted in decades and it REEKED of smoke. Nica, the front desk girl said it was a non-smoking room but maybe the HOUSEKEEPER smoked while she was in there! SAY WHAT?
I tried not to be the Taurus brat that I can be when it comes to sleeping. I put all the food in the spotless refrigerator and started to put my belongings in the closet with no doors. Brian is hiding the laptops and Wii and cameras under the furniture and I am trying to imagine introducing my baby daughter to the wonders of travel and hotel stay with this as her first experience and I started to panic. I didn't even want to lay on the bed much less stay there for 10 nights. I looked at my husband longingly and he knew. He felt the same way.
We booted up and started to phone around. Brian found a Wyndham property that was $50 a night!!! The minute he heard they had availability he started to pack up. We hurriedly packed and draped everything around us (there were no luggage carts) and as we were making our escape out the room, there was Nica. She gave us a weird look and I had to think fast!
"Nica!' I yelled and began to run towards her down the hall with the 50 pounds of luggage and good flapping against my thighs and back. "She's in labor!" I exclaimed! "Welcome to the exciting world of adoption! She's in another county and we have to check out immediately and go there to be with her".
Nica's eyes widened with excitement! "Oh my Gosh! Meet me at the front desk!" I ran around to the front desk and there was a man in the office. She immediately started to refund our money and she said to the man, "they are adopting a baby and it’s being born in another county!" the man got all excited too (man, I am good I am thinking!)
So I began to weave an elaborate tale of how she went to the Dr. in Simpsonville and went into labor and she’s out there and we have to drive another hour and a half. They bought it hook line and sinker.
After I got my credit receipt and Brian was playing the supporting Role of "getaway driver, "Quick thinking Gab" he said as he sped out of the parking lot away from the yuckiness and onto a luxury accommodations fit for a Taurian such as myself and my beautiful little daughter on the way!
"I know", I said, "It still happens...occasionally..."
