To my utter amazement, I had enough funding to start my trip to China. The outpouring of love and support from my friends and relatives has been (and continues to be) overwhelming.
One last hurdle, I expected my travel documents to arrive last week. As of Apr 6, I was pulling my hair out in frustration. I had planned to leave Apr 7!!! I made an appointment with the right government agency. After 3 appointments in as many days, I got my docs, called a travel agent and got the tickets.
Why did I use a travel agent? I asked for open return tickets (where I can arrange the schedule of my return flights at a later date). In as much as she couldn't give me that, she gave me refundable tickets. If for any reason I needed to adjust my return trip, I need only to e-mail her and she'll take care of it. Plus, I was still working full time and I had not packed yet so time was of the essence.
What about work? I had always planned to work from China. But it was logistically difficult to arrange. So, my boss convinced me to take time off so I can concentrate on healing.
Mom and I packed the night of April 8. We were booked on the noon flight to San Francisco. That Saturday happened to be when my cousin was having her baby baptized. So we planned to spend the weekend with family in the west coast before heading to China. I wanted to break up the trip so it wasn't so gruelling.
Since we made the travel arrangements at the very last minute, I didn't have a long goodbye with my hubby and daughter. They had known the plan for a couple of weeks. I had really planned to leave after Easter so I could get back before Burke's First Communion. I left a big box of goodies (mix of candies and toys) for Burke. She should get one goodie a day (much like an advent calendar) and that should last until my return.
And thank goodness for Burke's group of surrogate moms. They organized a schedule to help Mike with after school care for Burke. She was super thrilled to find out she would get play dates every school day!
That's the blur I left the East coast in. I was trying not to think too much into the future because I had no idea what to expect in China. Anyway, I needed to concentrate on the task at hand. Too much to do in so little time. The next thing I knew, I was kissing my family goodbye. Leaving on a Jetplane was playing in the background in my head.
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