First of all, Hannah is doing great. I think that she is adjusting as well as she possibly could be. She is sleeping, eating, playing, and affectionate with us all. We are so thrilled to have her here with us.
There is no way around it though. This week was HARD. Adjusting to 4 kids is hard. Getting no sleep due to extreme jet-lag is hard. Meeting the needs of a 6, 4, 2, and 1 year old is hard. Add to that 2 family members getting the stomach flu, and me busting the back windshield of my van, and we have over-the-top hard.
Then, yesterday, we had to have our dear dog, Rizzo, put to sleep. It is hard for me to even type those words. We have had Rizzo for more than 13 years, and loved her deeply. Unfortunately, right before we left for China, something bit her (likely a poisonous spider). She fought hard, but her body was just too week to overcome the damage that this bite did to her body. So we had to say goodbye. A very painful goodbye to a member of our family.
This week was definitely not what I had in mind when I imagined bringing Hannah home and finally being together as a family. I expected that in our adjustment period, we might have a lot of tears. I just didn’t realize that most of them would be mine.
A mother wears many hats, however. Despite my deep sadness right now, I have to be excited about the tooth fairy coming to Z tonight. I have to be ready for 2 school Halloween parties tomorrow, and one of the kids’ favorite nights of the year. I can do this because my love for my kids surpasses everything else. And I have faith that week #2 will be better…
