"THE TERRIFIC TWO'S"

I know you are wondering how things have been since Jayden has been home. The plane flight home was of course long and tiring. We had several complications with our tickets resulting in my needing to re-book our flights at every stop. In Hong Kong, we exited the plane and was greeted by a man holding a big sign with my name in bold letters. I identified myself and he simply said, "follow me." I must tell you that was not a good feeling.
We followed him to the Cathay Pacific ticket counter and he started typing. Apparently they had Jayden listed as an infant and not a toddler which would mean he would have no seat on the long flight over the ocean. The mistake was corrected and soon we were seated and the long part of the journey home began. (We almost missed the plane after this delay and the long walk to the terminal. We also had forgotten there was a one hour time difference between Hong kong and Honoi. We arrived at the terminal to the sounds of "last call.")

We were in the middle section in a four seat row. The seat next to me was empty so I moved over and Jayden had two seats between us. What a blessing!!! He stretched out and with the exception of maybe an hour, he slept the thirteen hour trip to LA. I think Angie and I did as well.

We landed in LA and soon Angie and I both were commenting on a very noticable change in the behavior of the workers and employees of the airport, eating establishments, ticket agents etc.
In Vietnam, customer service is the name of the game. We have commented several times on this blog about the way we were treated. People just could not do enough to help you. Not so in LA!!!

I discoverd this first hand when I committed apparently what was the unpardonable sin by forgetting to take my lap top out of my back pack when I put it through the scanner.
The "gentleman" who informed me of this treated me like a criminal and spoke down at me in a very demeaning way. It was incredible. Our next encounter with customer service at the LA airport was with a lady who drove one of the golf cart vehicles. Angie's foot was giving her unbearable pain with all the walking in the airport. I haled the lady down and asked her for a ride. I explained my wife's situation and her only comment was, "You'll have to pay." Before I could even ask her how much, she had driven off.

But now enough about us. "What about Jayden?" I thought you would never ask. Not once, I repeat, not once from Honoi to Hong Kong, to LA, to Dallas, to Charlotte; not once did he cry or show any signs of being disgruntled or tired or upset. Wait, I stand corrected. He did cry once in the airport in Honoi as we were checking our bags. I handed him to Angie so I could gather the luggage and he cried. She gave him back to me and he hushed.

I don't know if we have said much about this but one of the things we noticed while over in Vietnam was that he preferred me to carry him or if I left the hotel room without him, he would sometimes cry. It was obvious to both Angie and me that he did not want his daddy out of his sight. I believe I know the reason.

Thouc was his father figure while at the baby home. Thouc would come every 3-4 weeks or so for a visit. He would spend a lot of time with Jayden and the other children and then when it was time to leave, he would hand him back over to one of the nurses. I am sure jayden cried whenever Thouc left. I believe that when I would hand Jayden to Angie, he thought that I was leaving.

This became even more evident to us when we touched down in Charlotte. We were home. Now Jayden understands what we say to him. He doesn't yet talk, but he knows what we say. We told him we were home. When we arrived in baggage claim, his three sisters and grandfather were there to meet him. He has been studying his family for months in pictures that we had sent to the baby home. Even while we were there, we would show him daily again the pictures of his home and family in the U.S. When he saw his family in the airport it was like magic. I handed him to Angie, and guess what? No more tears!!! Not only did he not cry , but now he preferred Angie to hold him over me. You see, when he met his sisters and grandfather face to face, and finally saw all of us together, in his little mind he knew he was home. That meant that Daddy was not going anywhere. We were a family and families stay together!

We arrived at home to a large "Welcome Home Jayden Banner" and lots of new experiences and wonders awaiting.

We have now been home five days. Jayden is incredible. Everyday he is becoming more and more familiar with and adjusted to his new life. his appetite is amazing. He is eating just about everything we put on his plate. He loves bananas, eggs, grits, (good ol southern boy), green beans, apple sauce, hot dogs. and corn bread. He takes approximately 24 ounces of formula per day, a far cry from the 4 or so he was getting at the baby home. We're going to have to put him on a diet!!!

He was introduced to many of the people in his church at a welcome home party on his behalf and aside from having that "who are all this people" look on his face he was an angel.

He has an infectious smile and is so happy. He sleeps 10-12 hours at night, takes a nap in the afternoon and continues to shine more and more. We are still waiting on the "terrible two's"
to kick in. Maybe that's only true with kids born in America. I don't know. But for one little boy,
abandoned at birth, raised in an orphanage, and now living 12 thousand miles from anything and everybody he has ever known, he is going through the "TERRIFIC two's!!!"

We are blessed. Our prayers have been answered. Jayden is home. We are on an incredible journey. Jayden's Journey will continue. We each have our own journey. We come from different beginnings, backgrounds, families, cultures, etc. Each journey is special! It is ours! If we are fortunate we will have loving, caring people to help us find our way along our journey. We will be here for Jayden. In time we will share with him these beginnings to his journey through life.

He will not remember the baby home, Thouc, the loving nurses, his buddy Dat, or the early days in his homeland. But we will tell him and better yet because of this blog, we will be able to show him in word and pictures. One day, the Lord willing, we will return with Jayden to Vietnam for a visit. We want him to see first hand this part of his journey.

May God bless you along YOUR Journey.

Norman