My First Adoption Day Away From Home

I'm not stupid. I know that I can't have my Adoption Day with my family every single year- the words I said to my Dad on the phone when he told me he wished we could be together to celebrate.

For those curious, my Adoption Day is the day that my Mother first met me and held me in her arms in China. Many adoptees celebrate this day and call it their Adoption Day or Gotcha Day. My Mom started the adoption process as a single mother and then met my Father almost at the end of the process. Because they weren't married at the time, my Father couldn't accompany her to China. That's when her best friend, Leslie joined her! Leslie and my Mom took 3 planes to the largest city near my orphanage, Maoming, and took a bus to a small town called Wuchuan to meet me. They waited on the bus outside the orphanage (they weren't allowed inside) when they saw the orphanage director and my caretaker board the bus with a baby swaddled in cloths. My caretaker whispered some words to me and then handed me to my Mom. I stared up at the woman who would take care of me and love me for the rest of my life and i smiled. A bright, big, happy smile. And the rest is history.

First Meeting

Each Adoption Day, my familiy celebrate by going out or making Chinese food. We gather around the table, my Mom puts up some Chinese decorations and traditional Chinese music plays in the background as my parents recall stories of when I just came home. I usually root through my Mom's office closet for a big red photobook. Inside are all the photos Leslie and my Mom took on the trip to get me. The photobook includes pictures of Leslie holding Chinese coke cans, Chinese toilets, beautiful Chinese buildings, me in cute clothes they brought from Canada and the other girls who were adopted at the same time as me (they are part of my adoption group).

My favourite thing about my whole Adoption Day is when my parents begin the dinner. We always raise our glasses and my parents say how thankful they are to have me and for my birth parents because they know that I wouldn't be there if it wasn't for them. I love my family for doing that. I love the fact that they acknowledge and understand that my birth family are as connected to me as they are connected to me. I love them so much and my heart aches that I can't hug them today.

Today:

I celebrated this Adoption Day with the people who I love dearly and with many mindful moments.

I woke up, stretched and meditated. Then I went to a cafe called Zeit für Brot (translation: Time for Bread) for their famous cinnamon buns that I have been craving for a while. Then I went to the Kulturforum to explore the Faces of China exhibit where over 100 portrait paintings during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) are showcased. It is the first exhibit in Europe dedicated to Chinese portrait painting featuring members of the imperial court, ancestors, military figures, and informal portraits of artists and famous women. These paintings portray a style that hasn't been seen before and I was fascinated by the impossible details and bold colours. Then I went with 10 of my closest friends to a well-reviewed (TripAdvisor doesn't lie, right?) Chinese restaurant in Berlin. We all had been starving ourselves for the majority of the day to make more room for the dinner. They got me some lovely unexpected gifts, we had many many laughs and "oh god I ate too much" comments. I felt so grateful to be with people who care about me and love me for everything that I am. I made a toast at the beginning of the dinner to carry on the tradition of my parents. I thanked everyone for being there and being in my life. I thanked my family for always teaching me that love is more than blood and that no matter where I am in the world they are always with me. And of course, I thanked my birth parents for being the reason I am here today and for being a part of what makes me me, and that I would never change. I am so grateful to be able to share the day with the other girls in my Adoption Group and have a community of fellow Chinese adoptees who are also dear to me.

At the end of today, I feel so much love for my friends, my family and my birth family. Cheers to the people who started my life, who have carried me this far and who will always be in my heart no matter where I am.