Day Two, Part Two

We finally arrived at the hotel and were excited to take naps and get clean. Bryan and I took our showers first while S opted to sleep. I went down to get more water, which is supposed to help with altitude sickness, while Bryan started his nap. Now we had only been at the hotel for about 45 minutes, so imagine my surprise when I heard someone behind me ask if I was with AGCI while I was paying. I turned around and saw the driver that I recognized from a picture our agency had sent to us. He asked if I wanted to go right then to Hannah's Hope to meet my daughter and I, of course, said YES! I ran back to our room and burst open the door while screaming for Bryan and S to get up and get dressed fast. We were going to meet our daughter! A few minutes later we were all stepping onto the bus, Bryan and myself exhausted, S feeling a little grungy, but we didn't care. We were on our way to HH. A short, incredibly bumpy ride later, we pulled up to those famous black gates that we had seen in so many pictures of people that had gone before us. This was really happening. Bryan and I were really going to meet our daughter.
The rest of the story is told from a daddy's perspective...

My wife and I had dreamed of that first moment when we would be able to hold our daughter for the first time for longer than we cared to think about. In our minds that moment would involve a sweet smile from her, a tear or two from us, and a moment that would endure forever. For Amory, the latter part was definitely accurate.

Entering the room at Hannah’s Hope for the first time without having slept in over 19 hours, we were deliriously tired and deliriously excited. Of course, we had seen pictures of A from other families who had sent us pictures, but nothing would prepare us for this moment. A was absolutely precious as she slept in a small crib on the far side of the room, but Amory could not wait to see her with her eyes open. As A woke up, Amory gathered A in her arms and picked her up. From over Amory’s shoulder I saw a beautiful little girl with big brown eyes, full lips, and a mini Mohawk of hair.

While I smiled at A from a distance, she coughed a little bit. Amory, who had been coughing through the flight hours before, bounced A in her arms saying, “We can just cough together.” At that moment A gave Amory the perfect moment we would never forget, spitting up not once, not twice, but three times all over Amory’s shirt and arms. I laughed as the special mother helped clean up A and Amory went to clean up herself.

Since Amory was getting cleaned up, I finally got to hold A for the first time. I held her close to me in amazement that I was finally at Hannah’s Hope with my daughter. I still did not feel like a father. I kept thinking two things” 1: Don’t drop her and 2: I hope she does not throw up on me. She kept coughing every now and then and Amory and the special mothers' laughed as I kept moving her away from me with each cough. Then, she looked right up at me and smiled. I felt myself well up, but I figured I did not want to be that guy who cries before his wife. Later, watching the video, I discovered Amory had cried as she held A for the first time, so I was in the clear. Still, I could not believe I was a father.

As most of you could have guessed Amory took little A from me as soon as she could. Throughout the next hour Amory gave her a bath, fed her a bottle, and held her close. We watched her smile at the other kids, roll over from side to side and try as hard as she could to hold her head up while lying on her stomach. As she was rolling, her eyes started to slowly close. Mine started to close as well as I lay beside her. I reached out and she took my index finger in her hand. As we both drifted to sleep, I thought, “I really am a father. I really am A’s father.” So, although our first moments might not have been exactly what we thought they would be, Amory and I both got memorable moments from our first visit with A. I am just happy Amory’s moment is the one that had to be cleaned up.