Skippy

Seven years

This photograph makes me smile and also makes me pine for Devin’s younger days. It seemed like a great way to start out this post.

I know myself well enough to realize that with tomorrow’s busyness, I’m not likely to find the time to put this together. So I’m going to celebrate Devin Day one day early.

Seven years ago, on Oct. 19, Devin flew into Detroit on a Northwest Airlines plane. It was one of those moments you don’t ever think is going to happen. We waited six months from the completion of our forms to the day he arrived. And although that seemed like forever, most international adoption takes a lot longer. We were so lucky that things went so smoothly and so quickly. Except for the part where the passengers disembark from the plane and go through customs. That part took A VERY LONG TIME.

Every time the frosted-glass doors would open, the three waiting families and their entourages would stand on our tiptoes and search for babies, but instead it was always the other passengers streaming out. And we’d sigh collectively and go back to nervously biting our fingernails. (OK. It was me doing the nail biting. I’m not sure what everyone else was doing because I was totally focused on the doors.)

When A VERY LONG TIME finally came to an end, the whole mob rushed forward and I couldn’t see the babies at all. So I was confusedly walking in the wrong direction and Scott had to steer me over to where Gail was holding Devin. And there he was. So tiny and adorable.

I love remembering that day. Even the part where I put his diaper on backward.

And I love when we came home and set him down on the floor and he took off at an army crawl at an amazingly fast pace. It was kind of an indicator of what to expect. When walking commenced, it was basically a few steps and then he was running. Always moving. Always on his way somewhere. Always curious and going after what he wants.

I also love that we have this day every year. We celebrate his birthday, but we also get an extra day where we celebrate our family’s seven years of togetherness.