Where Would You Go, If You Could Go?

My daughter (Lilly) pulled a secret agent passport out of a box of cereal a couple of days ago. That in and of itself is bolg-worthy! I mean, a SECRET AGENT PASSPORT! Does it get much better than that? It came ready for her fill in her personal info, and had stamps from all kinds of countries for her to place inside.

She asked me: "Dad, where would you want to go?" She started naming the countries--Ireland, England, Germany, France, Russia...

First of all, I was pretty impressed with her reading ability. She's one smart cookie! Then I began to think of how to answer her breakfast question. I could take the rabbinical approach (Where would you like to go, daughter of mine?). I could blow her off--we are talking about a breakfast cereal toy, after all. Or I could play along.

It dawned on me that other than Hawaii, the Dominican Republic and Canada, I haven't been much of anywhere. My dad was in the Air Force, and we didn't travel much. Vacations were spent at my grandparents in Tryon, North Carolina--fun, home of the world's smallest daily newspaper, but certainly not an exotic travel spot. For our honeymoon, my wife's aunt gave us a Timeshare week--tradeable anywhere in the world. Kim had us looking at Aruba, Jamaica (ooo, I wanna take her to) Bermuda, Bahama (come on pretty mama). I set her on the right path pretty quickly, though, and we honeymooned in the paradise that is The Poconos. Do I know how to live or what?

But I digress.

Where would I go if I could go anywhere?

Where would you go if you could go anywhere?

There are a lot of places I want to visit, but at the top of the list for me and my family is the great nation we call China. You see, my newest daughter is somewhere, waiting in an orphanage; waiting for us to get our paperwork done, to get the $$ together, and to get on a plane.

To get her. Take out the spaces and it spells together. Did you ever notice that?

Sometimes it gets me. My guts hurt. Tears well up in my eyes. To think that there are whole buildings full of babies/children who need homes...and yet it's so stinkin' hard to make it happen...

Where would I go? I'd go get Annabelle. That's her name. We pray for her every night. I can't wait to meet her, to hold her, to love her.

You want to go with us? There's lots of babies there...click on to read other stories of adoption. And get your kleenex ready.