Quest for Mia part 4
There is so much information out there (internet, books, etc.) about adoption from China. I have many favorite sources that I return to when I feel impatient about wrapping my arms around this child. One of the first was a television program that aired last summer called “ China’s Lost Girls”. It was a National Geographic special hosted by Lisa Ling. A neighborhood friend was gracious enough to tape the show for us and I decided to watch it for the first time one Tuesday night while riding my exercise bike.
Lisa Ling follows several families on their trip to China to pick up their daughters. They are from all over the US, but will pick up their girls from the same orphanage. The situation is presented from all angles…what led to the abundance of orphan girls, China’s views on the adoptions, the future of China created by the gender disparity, and the dreams fulfilled by American parents.
There is one mother from Georgia that has come to China for her second adoption. She revisits the location where her first daughter was abandoned. It was a beautiful park and she remarks that it is no coincidence that her daughter is quite the nature-lover. Then she mounts a poster in the park that has a picture of her daughter the day she was found and a picture of her now (and so adorable, I must add). In the Chinese language the poster reads, “This little girl was found in this park on this certain date. She is now three years old and living in the state of Georgia in the USA and is a healthy and happy child….just wanted her parents to know.”
Oh my goodness. I was balling my eyes out at this mother’s gratitude and consideration of the biological parents. In fact, it was that ugly cry where you sort of start convulsing and it eventually caused me to fall off the bike and injure my knee. Chad came rushing in and it was there that we agreed I should no longer watch China documentaries while operating heavy machinery.
The video tape of “ China’s Lost Girls” became our education tool for our family and friends. It has been great to have a one hour visual summary of the economic events leading to this point in China and what we will be doing on our trip to pick up Mia. Needlesstosay, I just about have the show memorized from watching it so many times now. I love it though, almost more than The Sound of Music.
Here comes the freakishly cool part of the story. Chad happened to be on a business trip to LA in January of this year. We were really frustrated with the amount of time it was taking to receive our INS approval from the US government. As he was exiting the lobby of his hotel he spotted Lisa Ling. Not being one to be star-struck, he made a b-line towards her. She averted his eye contact and her posture appeared to say, “Not another fan. I’m really tired right now and just want to be left alone”. Did that stop Chad? Uh, no. He said, “Lisa, I just quickly wanted to tell you that my wife and I are adopting from China and really loved your National Geographic show”. Her smile lit up and she grabbed her heart. Then she asked him if he had a moment to sit on the couch and talk to her about it. They conversed for nearly a half hour about her experience and she shared that this was the reason she left “The View” because she wanted to do stories that affected people’s lives. I still have the voicemail saved when Chad called to tell me about it. What an awesome day, and boy did that give us the lift we needed to be patient about the INS approval.
Continued
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