That's right Billy Balu has been home 3 whole years. Amazing.
For those of you not aware of Gotcha Day. Its a term used to signify the day that a child joined your family. In and of itself, the term Gotcha Day is not without contention. Some feel a more appropriate term is Arrival Day or Family Day as Gotcha feels a bit like catching a fish, not bringing home a child. But, its catchy, people remember it and at least for this part of being adoptive family, its not a battle I am going to fight. I will continue to fight the questions like: are they real siblings - yes, just watch them fight; are they related-yes, now they are. As well as, I'll continue to fight for adoption leave and assistance. I'll also advocate to anyone who will listen how great it is to parent, regardless of if they are biological or adopted. But, for some reason the term Gotcha Day has stuck with our family and I am not fighting that battle right now.
So, 3 years ago on Juy 5th, Tom and I sat waiting in a hot car while Billy's foster mom cried heartbreaking tears and handed him over to us. We traveled through Japan and on to MN. We had a rollercoaster journey with Billy eating one hour, crying one hour and then sleeping one hour, only to be repeated like wash rinse repeat until we were home (how many time do you wash, rinse, repeat in any case?! Future blog I guess). A FABULOUS airline attendent named Mike even walked BIlly around for an hour of the crying phase. Mike was great because he looked just like Billy, only 5' 11", 190lbs and Chinese. Very handsome, but then I might be biased:)
We arrived in MN to a hearty welcome from Billy and Kay. They couldnt wait to meet him, kiss him, hug him and promptly dropped him on his head. Just like any sibling welcoming home their little brother:)
We celebrated this year with chocolate chocolate cake with sprinkles and fireworks (left over from Diwahli and in celebration of the 4th of July a day late). He got to play with his favorite friends (Noah, Roshen and Owen) and watched the perennial favorite Tom and Jerry. He has now lived in India longer than Korea or the US. Strange that at just 3 1/2 he's lived in 3 countries and visited countless others.
We are so glad Billy is a part of our family, how lucky are we?!!!
We love you Billy Balu!! And, we thank God everyday that your birth mommy and foster mommy loved you enough to let you have a forever family and become a Murphy.
Mommy, Daddy, Jimmy and Kay
