Travel Arrangements...

I will be flying out of Chicago Sunday December 9th aroun noon on United and arriving in Seoul at 9:00 p.m. Monday the 10th. I fly back to Chicago, arriving at OHare on Friday the 14th around noon.

My cousin will be traveling with me....she is able to fly for free because she is a retired flight attendant on United. It will be nice to have a travel companion.

I am emotionally drained tonight. I was up till the wee hours of the morning working on a paper for school and making a master "to-do" list of what needs to get done before next Friday. I am hoping to make a dent in that list this weekend. Hopefully I will sleep a little better tonight and wake up refreshed and able to perform!

I can't believe that 2 weeks from today I will be home with Sophie :)

Lately I've been reading a lot about the experiences of others who have traveled recently to pick up their children in Korea. Sophie is very well bonded with her foster parents...so I am expecting her to do a lot of grieving those first few weeks with me. I am so, so happy to be getting ready to bring her home, and so, so sad that her whole little world is about to be turned upside down...this will be a very traumatic event for her. To think about how confusing it must be for a baby to loose all she is familiar with...the smells, the little ways her "Omma" knows how to comfort her that I must learn...it breaks my heart for her. Of course I'm overhwelmed with joy at our gain...but I think it's important to remember that loss is at the core of all adoption. To acknowledge that loss allows all involved to move forward and heal.

Okay, I can really tell I'm tired now after re-reading the last paragraph I wrote!