The China Girls

Every summer we get together with about 16 families that we travelled with to China in 2004.  Many of our girls were from the same orphanage, and some even shared cribs.  In many ways I feel these people are extended family.  Last year we went camping near Santa Barbara and the girls spent the weekend down by the creek catching frogs and roly poly's. This year we went to the Madonna Inn near San Luis Obispo and the girls swam in the hotel pool ALL DAY.  Seriously. From 10 am til 10 at night.  There were some art projects thrown in there but mostly it was pool time.  The parents went in too, or sat around the pool eating and drinking, and as always, marveling over the beautiful girls that came into our lives march 8, 2004 in China.  I will try to post about that trip and that day at some point but for now I'll say 2 things about the magic of our reunion weekends, which Sally calls the China Girls weekends.  First there is Mei Mei.  Mei Mei and Sally shared a crib their first year and they share a connection with one another that makes you know that they 'remember'.  They just gravitate toward each other from the minute we get to the reunion and are inseparable.  It doesn't hurt that Mei Mei's mom Amy is our best friend from the trip, as kind and generous a person as you'll ever meet, and that her big sister Emma is a favorite of my kids.  In China Maggie was 7 and Emma was 3, but Maggie and Emma got very close and we all just love her.   

The other thing I wanted to mention about our China Girl weekends happened this year. Of course she knows her story about being adopted from China and that all the other girls were adopted from China too, but this year she finally 'got it.' She  kept running up to us all weekend, all excited, "Hey mom, guess what?!  Roxy's Chinese too!!"  or "guess what?  Jade's from China too! " And then she'd jump back in the pool for more swimming with her China Girls. 

 The picture on top is from this year's reunion.  It's Emma, Sally and Mei Mei.  The one on the bottom is from last year and it's Sally, Emma and Mei Mei(wardrobe for all girls courtesy of Sally's suitcase).