ELIAS
by Matt Ewing
I
will never forget the night before we went to meet our precious Elias. We
were so excited we gave up trying to get a full night’s rest a little after
midnight. I am certain that the image of Elias in his referral picture had
been a steady presence in our minds for months and we talked very little on that
night. The exact conversations that took place escape me, but I can
imagine us talking about our anxieties in all the formalities yet to come and on
being new parents. To some extent we were very scared. For sure, our
embrace would not come soon enough.
Missy and I were married very young as
full-time students and part-time workers. We were determined to be husband
and wife. From very early in our relationship we knew international adoption was
our choice for building our family because we had both experienced the miracle
of adoption. Adoption has been an important part of our lives for a very long
time. I am one of ten children, the youngest six siblings all born in
different countries.
Throughout it all, I simply do not believe
there are any words to describe the feelings that occur when the referral
picture finally arrives. And as time progresses and life seems to stand
still, the emotions become more easily triggered and the feelings get more
intense each time a dear friend asks if you have heard anything. Be fore
sure, that moment the referral picture is revealed it touches your life.
Once the travel date comes, life moves very fast and it hasn’t let up yet.
It seemed forever before we finally received
that precious picture of Elias. He is a beautiful, young boy. The
picture was of him lying on a colorful blanket with his hands curled on each
side of his face. I will never forget his little fingers in the picture.
He was so small and at the time of the referral he was only about a month old.
From that very first moment when we saw his picture we needed him to be in our
arms so we could care for him. Time becomes very difficult and slow.
We were reassured that he was well taken care of at the orphanage by a dedicated
group of women. The hardest part for me was knowing that he was alone at
our most special time of the year, the Christmas holidays. He was not so
much alone as we were without him.
We managed to endure the long wait and the
very last bit of waiting was the two-hour drive to Tra Vinh. All of the
horn honking is a little unnerving at first, but eventually it is just another
sound of Vietnam. As thoughts of Elias bounced around in our brains, we
enjoyed a fleeting glance of rural Vietnam.
At the orphanage we finally met our sweet son.
A snapshot of the instant we embraced will always be cherished. The glory
in our eyes is so evident and all the waiting family came to a close. He
was a character from the start and I will never forget his penetrating, dark
eyes. It was obvious to me that he would be very smart because of his
constant, deep observation of everything.
Our little Elias may be a prankster. He
was making faces and funny noises from the beginning and even at one year old he
acts like he gets a kick out of teasing mommy and daddy. He has a
beautiful smile and enjoys showing it off. He is so active that it will be
an enjoyable challenge to keep up with him when he starts walking. Elias
is a very strong boy, and anyone who holds him for a short time realizes this.
He is a very happy, little guy and he is very open with his opinion, of course
his language is very limited at this point. What a joy it is growing with
him. We are so blessed to have him as a part of us, and I thank God each
day for his presence in our life.
Each day I wake up excited about my first
exchange with our Elias. Parenthood has changed us forever and forever the
better. I say I am complete. Certainly not a complete family,
because Missy and I both would like to adopt again, but complete in that I feel
like I am doing what has always been meant for me to do. I have know that
I am a man, an adult, for a decade, but now it is official…I am a daddy.
|
WORLDWIDE Adoption Services, Inc |
101 Builders Court, Spartanburg, South Carolina
29316
Phone 864-814-1336 Fax
864-814-1340