Day Three: Easter in Ethiopia

The View of the Street from Our Roof Top (carrying in the Easter goat)

Auntie Heather, Jill and Garrett (well, part of Garrett) on the Roof Top of the Guest Home

A Local Bringing Home the Easter Goat's Skin

Our second night/third day in Addis (going into the early morning) marked the Ethiopian celebration of Easter. We all went to bed at a normal time but were woken up sometime in the early morning hours by a parade going on. I thought I was really losing my mind when I heard music sounding in the streets - I honestly thought I was in Heaven or was dreaming about Heaven. It sounded like masses of people singing praises. I had no clue what songs they were, just that they were beautiful. Eventually we all woke up (and stayed awake for several hours) and had snacks and hung out in our room. If I remember correctly we fell back asleep after the prayers finished over the loud speakers (they are blasted through the city).

Needless to say, the next morning we woke up, called Tegist and asked if we could rearrange our day to allow for naps! Originally we had planned to go visit Ellie at the Baby Home and then go celebrate Easter in Tegist's home. Instead, Tegist and a care giver brought Ellie to the Guest Home where we were staying so that Garrett could nap as needed.

When Ellie arrived she was sound asleep. We brought a pack-n-play down from upstairs for her to finish her nap in the living area while we discussed (in depth, probably an hour) her routine, habits, preferences with both Tegist and the care giver. I cannot even begin to say what a gift this was to both us and to Ellie. With many adoptions, you show up at the child's orphanage and are just handed a child. No schedule. No eating routine. Nothing. Sometimes something. But this was over-the-top wonderful. I just looked back at my notes I took .... I literally was given her daily routine in thirty minute increments.

Eventually Ellie woke up and her care giver attended to her so that she could get her bearings and just figure out the new place she was in. And, let's just say, she was a little shy. After a while Tegist and the care giver went outside so that we could have some alone time with our girl. Ouch. Was it ever painful. Of course, she cried at first. But eventually she sat quietly as she clung onto me. Kenny and I spent almost an hour loving on her and just trying to make her feel safe. I think that was one of the longest hours of my life. Holding my little girl who was petrified of me. Holding a little peanut who's whole world was beginning to change. Watching her do her best to put on a brave, solemn face. I'm still not gonna lie...it was hard. I consider myself pretty kid-friendly. But this girl made me work for it! And, again, I knew this was normal. I knew this was part of the bonding-attaching-grieving process. But watching your child scared (and of you) is so hard.

During this whole time Garrett came in and out of the room - he played outside, upstairs and lunched - all with Auntie Heather. I cannot even begin to describe how thankful we were to have Heather there with us! If you are even considering taking a young child on a trip like this with you and you can take help, TAKE IT! There is no way we could have done this trip alone. No way.

Eventually (after 2-3 hours) we said our "see you soons" to Ellie and the ladies and all proceeded to nap! We were pooped and knew we needed to get our rest if we wanted to endure the rest of our trip.

One funny note, the traditional Ethiopian Easter meal is ... wait, what is it? Lamb? Goat? I don't remember now! But, whatever it was, the sweet ladies at the Guest Home prepared us a traditional Easter meal. I'll never forget that moment when Heather and I looked into the family style spread and our eyes met with trepidation - what was it? We had to try it. It was only polite. So, Heather, being the brave soul she is, picked up the serving spoon to scoop up her portion. And that's when we heard the clank of the spoon hitting bone. Needless to say, I did not try the *meat* ... we all know I have some meat issues. Shudder.

Remembering back to this day, I am so thankful for the flexibility of our agency's workers. It was a national holiday, one in which they should have been spending with their own families and instead totally rearranged things for us. Because we were tired. Because they wanted us to still see our daughter and make the most out of the transition time with her. I feel selfish even typing this. Our agency, both stateside and abroad, truly wants to see families thrive. They don't just want to shuffle people in and out and hand off babies. They really, really, really want to make solid, child-centered (first) and family-centered (second) decisions. And we were certainly recipients of that.