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Adoption

We Are Spending Thanksgiving In…

Me: (tossing husband brand new coat) Come take a selfie with me!

Back in August I bought a couple of down coats on clearance.  Online, of course.  I don’t even know if they sell down in my state, and definitely not in August.  Our Hotlanta was about 95 degrees at the time, and the only coat I ever need here is made of something akin to tissue paper.

(Dear Ohio, you were a fabulous state in which to grow up, and I realize that I’m embarrassing you right now.  I remember the snow.  I remember not feeling my toes at the bus stop.  I will never forget when they still wouldn’t cancel school even when the snowplow got stuck.  I love you like crazy, Buckeye State.  And I’m sorry my blood thinned and I’m all wussy now.)

Why a down coat?

Call it a hunch.  Call it an act of blind faith.  Call it a desperate attempt to use retail as a herald for the future.

We were putting A– on a plane back to her home country, and I bought down coats hoping and praying that we’d be really, really cold a few months later.

Here in Hotlanta, I actually do feel slightly chilly right now, but I still wore a tank top two days ago and my kids run around in fleece jackets.  I think we own gloves, but I’m not sure where they are, because we never, ever need them.

Until Sunday, when hubby and I are hopping on a plane headed for the Baltics in December.  The beautiful country of Latvia has extended us an invitation, and we are bound for Europe, for crisp weather, and for A–.  We are spending Thanksgiving abroad, and we couldn’t feel more a-thankful.

Over the last two days, we’ve booked plane tickets, rearranged the next few weeks, and stuffed every sweater we own into our suitcases.  We’ve called in my parents to keep our littles, so they can enjoy Thanksgiving with cousins, school, their own beds, and the comfort of their normal routine.

We’ll celebrate American Thanksgiving with our Latvian family, including A– and our fabulous friend who lived with us this summer.  All summer long I heard about the history and culture and beauty of Latvia as our friend and A– shared with us their love for their country.  I cannot wait to fall in love with it myself.

We will spend Thanksgiving giving thanks for Latvia and A–, and we’ll be back in time to put up a tree for Christmas.

I’m an emotional wreck, can’t quit crying, and find myself zoning out and staring at walls in between making lists and rolling my clothes into my wheelie suitcase.  My honey and I are off on another adventure, and I can guarantee you there will be more selfies, more hoodies, and more of my award-winning iPhone photography.  Seriously, y’all, I have mad skills and I think I hear NatGeo a-knockin’.

(Dear Ohio, I’m also sorry for the y’all.  I added it in to try to fit in down here, and now I really, really like it.  And sweet tea.  I’m confused.)