It was finally time for us to head back to the U.S.! Cora Lakshmi helped me pack by testing the suitcases. We put her to sleep at the normal time and then had to wake her up just a few hours later to head to the airport. Our flight was set to leave at 1:00 am.
Our last jaunt through Indian traffic did not disappoint and we made it to the airport without a scratch. We hugged our amazing guide at the door of the airport and headed off to what we expected to be a smooth check-in process as we had plenty of time to spare. Boy, did we get a surprise! We waited in a moderate line as Cora Lakshmi slept strapped to Jason in the Ergo. When we got to the counter, the young man asked for our tickets and i.d. Pretty standard stuff and then he started speaking to his coworkers in Hindi and before I knew it we were being told that they couldn't issue our tickets because they needed proof that we were CL's parents. Even after we pointed out that our names were listed as her parents in her passport, they wanted to see all of the official court documents. So I dug out my Binder-Of-All-Things-Important and showed them the documents. And then I went full-on Momma Bear as the young woman told me she was going to take our documents somewhere else to make copies. After she was informed that I would be with those papers wherever she took them, she settled for taking digital photos.
Finally, our tickets were issued and we were able to progress through customs and security. This went pretty smoothly aside from some very frustrating questions about how we came to be her parents. Then we were through to the international terminal and on the way to our gate. However, we did notice that airport security seemed to walk past us rather often. It wasn't until we were in one of the common areas that we learned a news report was released that morning about a ring of people who were illegally giving girls to foreign families had been arrested. Once we understood that, we felt much better about the people at the ticket counter who were most likely just trying to protect our precious girl.
When we made it to our gate, Cora Lakshmi was very content to resume her "sleepy time" in her Daddy's lap.
She woke up as we were boarding and was happy to entertain the flight attendants for the majority of the flight. She finally went to sleep about 30 minutes before we landed in Amsterdam and was thoroughly unimpressed that we thought we needed to pick her up to exit the plane.
Our layover in Amsterdam felt much tighter than we thought because security checks at that airport happen at each gate so they call your flight a lot earlier than you would expect. This time I made sure I already had out my binder, but all the inspectors wanted to see was our sealed Visa packet. After that, they commented on how cute our squalling bundle of awesome was and ushered us through. Cora Lakshmi was still making sure that we knew she objected to being awake. Jason and I took turns going to the restroom to freshen up by changing into clean clothes and I tried to get CL to eat a snack. When the goldfish began to rain around the waiting area, I gave up and did my best to undo the mess. In a neat moment of parental camaraderie, a dad from Amsterdam looked at my frazzled self and said, "that looks like Thursday at our house!" His wife holding their 3 yr old daughter chuckled as he helped me clean up.
Our next flight was a little more interesting as she continued to let us know the injustices of being put on another plane and not in a bed. Thanks to a singing flight attendant, she settled down pretty quickly and slept through the majority of the flight. Cora Lakshmi also made sure I earned my Mommy wings by providing me with an impressive blowout diaper on the airplane. You guessed it, Newbie Mom forgot to pack an extra set of clothes in the carry-on. I can attest, though, that with much persistence and many paper towels a toddler's outfit can be washed and dried in an airplane bathroom.
We landed in Atlanta with a rested and happy girl. This customs experience was very different. When we entered the customs area, an attendant immediately stopped us and said, "Adoption?" When we said yes, she hugged us and walked us to the front of all the lines telling every attendant she saw that we had adopted Cora Lakshmi and to come and see this beautiful girl. Many congratulations, handshakes, and hugs were received. We presented all of our documents, waited for a few moments, and then we were through!
We stayed overnight in Atlanta. Our Chattanooga family drove down to meet Cora Lakshmi and we stayed awake as long as we could before we finally put an end to what Jason and I have dubbed "The Longest Thursday Ever". In the morning, Cora Lakshmi wanted us both to wear a sari.
We spent a wonderful morning with our Chattanooga family and our Georgia family who drove up to spend time with us! Then we were off to our last plane ride and back to Mississippi!
We finally landed at home and were greeted by our amazing friends and family! I can't even begin to express how much it meant to us to be welcomed home by all of you. You all have blessed us so much! A special thanks goes out to Jennifer Rutledge for the amazing photos she took of our homecoming.
After some car seat drama, we were on our way home to start finding our new normal!
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