Airport Departure Reflections

I have just made it through all the security checks and gave over my big bag of stuff to the airport attendant. I am mesmerized at how many of the people who are boarding this plane are Russian or who speak Russian. It makes me wish that I had learned more Russian in the past 20 months while I was waiting for this trip.

The one thing that is going through my mind right now is I wander what she looks like now. The pictures that I have are very out of date. I am so thankful and blessed to have these 8 pictures of her. I think that many who have children or have had them since birth never realize that these are probably the only 8 pictures from her first 2 years of life that I and she will ever have. Just thinking about this makes me tear up.

The other thing that has been running through my mind from the time that I have started to hear other Russians is who will she look like? Does she look more like her birth father or more like her birth mother? For years I have asked new parents ‘Does your baby look like what you thought she would look like?’ The answer is always no. I have always thought that was a funny answer because I usually can see a piece of one or both parents in the baby.

I think back to when I went to Europe for my 30th birthday. I have always thought that I looked different that the rest of my family and for that matter different from most Americans. When I got to Denmark is when I realized just how Danish I look. I remember Jenny and me both thinking the same thing. When we were in Denmark we were on our own quite a bit of time and neither of us could speak any Danish even though I tried to learn before I left. Everyone only spoke to us in Danish. In Denmark most of the citizens were very fluent in English because that was the language that was used to communicate with those from Sweden and Norway. I never felt like I was not completely understood. Will I feel the same in Russia?