One year ago our plane touched down at JFK airport in New York and we were finally on our own turf again. After a quick and easy process at the airport, Ella became a United States Citizen and we were unbelievably about to return to our home as a trio. It was a bit of a shock to return home to the states after spending so much time in Viet Nam. In Hanoi we got tons of attention and Ella was constantly admired and cooed at. In New York, no one gave us a second look. We had quickly become used to the Vietnamese hospitality and the stark contrast was startling to our jet lagged, sleep deprived selves.

A fairly pleasant man looked at Ella’s passport, checked her visa and quickly sent us on our way. We were nervous that there might be some hold up or problem, but we were through the lines and done waiting in less than ten minutes. As we walked out into the main terminal I heard our names being called by our parents, but couldn’t find them in the crowd. I didn’t have my glasses on and my eyes were so tired, that there’s no way I could have spotted them! We made it through the sea of people and over to both sets of Ella’s grandparents where they got to meet their first granddaughter for the very first time.

Ella put her little arms up and went right to my mom, which of course, bonded them for life. She was quick to check out everyone else and decided that these people were cool, and they could hold her if they wanted to. I honestly don’t remember much besides being really hungry, so I’m glad our parents were there to orchestrate things. They had rented a limo (!) to take us home and had installed Ella’s brand new carseat in there, so we settled in for the ride home. I think the fatigue kicked in on that car ride and I really began to feel the strain of our travels.

We had made the decision to not have a big fanfare at the airport deliberately. After much reading and talking to other adoptive families and professionals we decided to keep our homecoming calm and quiet. We knew that Ella would already be adjusting to a whole new country with new smells, sights, sounds and faces; and all this after a marathon traveling experience. We worried that she would be over stimulated and perhaps even frightened by a large group of people. Our parents were the perfect choice and were so thrilled to be the ‘chosen’ ones to get to meet Ella first :) I definitely feel that we made the right decision with our choice of airport festivities.

I’m going to spend some time next week writing about those first days and weeks home; as they can be incredibly trying and amazing at the same time. So stay tuned for more about our experiences after coming home from Viet Nam.

photo credit - Rebecca Hess (JFK airport)

More Reading:
This Time Last Year - Flying Home From Viet Nam
How to Teach Your Family About Attachment
How to Help Your Animals Adjust to the New Addition