Today was a Perfect Day

From Monday December 3, 2012:

The day we met Wynray we started with breakfast overlooking Addis, sunny skies and seated at a table next to a Spanish family who had just taken custody of their 2 Ethiopian boys a few days earlier.  Less than 30 minutes later, Kysa gets sick… the day just shifted.  Now just 10 minutes before we are scheduled to go see Wynray, we are fully focusing our attention on our little girl who trekked over 7,500 miles to be here.  Like us, she is trying to acclimate to life in Addis 8,000 ft. above sea level.  In 10 minutes she will set off to meet her baby brother.

Kysa is a trooper.  Brave.  Strong.  Our little hero.  She will fight through anything.  We get on the hotel bus and start the trek toward the IAN Care Center about 30 minutes away.  Traffic is chaos, smog and pollution build… we near.  Kysa gets sick again, and again.  She bounces back in between.  Our heads swim with random thoughts, nothing sticking.  We are desperately worried and wanting to take care of Kysa, and anxiously anticipating meeting our son .

Kysa has been charming the hotel staff since we arrived.  Besides the basic questions asked of her, "What is your name?" and "How old are you?"… she always adds, "I'm here to see my baby brother, he is in Ethiopia" as if not yet fully realizing she too is actually in Ethiopia. Maybe that still hasn't really hit any of us.. this is real.

We meet our son, Wynray… he is precious, handsome and full of smiles.  We promise to share much more on this later. Kysa is so proud too, looking at him, wanting to hold him, giving him "love pats" on his head.  She glances at him so affectionately it is amazing to witness.  And, he glances right back hardly able to take his eyes off his big sister.  Cute.  Cue proud parent moments.  Tissues?  Where are the tissues?

Unfortunately for Kysa, she gets sick again at the Care Center.  We go outside, she has had her moment with her brother today.  We play.  She is a trooper after all, so nothing a little play won't solve… or at least distract.  But we can see she is not fully herself.

Wynray falls asleep in Allison's arms and she places him in his crib, our precious meeting and moment has come to an end this day.  We focus again on Kysa and getting her well… back to the hotel for quiet time.  Good sleep, a movie or two, she is doing better.  

By dinner time we brave leaving the room with her to head downstairs for some food and fresh (fresh? ok, close but not really) air.  She plays and musters her strength once again.  She is playful and funny, our little girl.  But it doesn't last.  Dinner becomes room service, but we are all ok with that.  So we gather our things and head up to eat our cheese sandwich with ketchup, french fries and the 'Fasting Firfir' which is basically a marinated, spiced injera mix eaten with more injera.  Edible, not bad.. not great.  Better perhaps than the pasta with "ice cream sauce", or maybe I'll try that tomorrow.

Here's the part I LOVE.  We wake up in the middle of the night after this long, rough, precious, hard, amazing, challenging, beautiful, draining, splendid day.  We are all 3 awake.  Addis is black.  Our room lit by the screen of our laptop, 'The Lion King playing.  Allison asks Kysa, "what did you think about today?"

Kysa responds, "today was a perfect day".  

Kysa, you are our little hero.  You are going to be a great Big Sister!

PS- Don't worry, Kysa is doing great now!!!

/ fredrik