Our Family Day

In writing this particular blog post there will be details that I will be rather vague or brief about. The reason for this is that some of the experiences shared with my daughter are very personal to us and I want to respect that.

On Monday 7th March we boarded our Indigo Air plane just before 5am. I was rather nervous about taking this flight. I had flown internationally often enough but I had never flown domestically in another country. A slightly smaller plane on an airline that I hadn't flown with before and already feeling a large degree of nerves with knowing I would meet my daughter face to face that day. It could have been a recipe for disaster (if you know anything about how I fly) but it was amazing. The service from the staff onboard was amazing. I couldn't fault them at all. My aunty and I sat next to a man who was on his way to Nagpur for business. He knew straight away that we were from New Zealand as he had lived in Melbourne for a few years, studying. We were shown many photos of his daughter and wife who he was obviously very proud of. My highlight of the trip was going to the toilet and seeing the following sign. I thought it was such a great way to encourage hand washing with a little twist.

We arrived in Nagpur, the city of oranges apparently, and met our driver Sonu. Next began our very long trip driving to Akola for the next 4 and a half hours. We were tired but we didn't sleep. It was nice to sit and watch the everyday life of India as it flashed by on the highway. We saw goats, people harvesting rice,  goats, camels (although no one believed me), goats, temples, goats, cows, buffalo and... some goats. Every time we drove past a herd of goats Tuna would comment that he could just go and get one, they wouldn't notice. He was anticipating some goat curry.

We finally arrived in Akola at around 1pm. We didn't need to be at the SAA (Specialist Adoption Agency) until 3pm so we had some time to lie down, have a shower and get changed. I changed into my outfit that I had bought with me especially for the occasion. Today we were visiting Mahima and the SAA but while we were there they were going to preform a special handing over ceremony. I wanted to look the part. 

We arrived at the SAA and were welcomed in to the administration area. The SAA, where Mahima was, actually had two SAA within the one building. One for boys and girls aged 0 - 6 years and one for girls aged 7 - 18 years. As we sat and heard from some of the administrators I saw out of the corner of my eye the SAA counsellor, who I knew from video calls, walk in with Mahima. I caught my breath and it all felt very surreal. I immediately got up from my chair and went down on my knees to welcome my daughter. Of course she was also quite overwhelmed. She had seen me every fortnight on the phone but now here I was in front of her. 

I took out her bunny and doll which I had brought with me. She had seen these toys on every video call and had photos of them in her photo book. She clung to her new toys and continued staring around the room wondering what was going on. Preeti and Raul, who I knew from video calls, got out the toys and books that I had bought Mahima on Indian Amazon. We looked at her books 'P is for Poppadom' and 'A Gift for Amma' and I blew some bubbles. This seemed to calm both of our nerves for a time. We then had a walk around the SAA seeing where Mahima slept and meeting some of the careers and the children who also lived there, from 17 year old girls to 3 week old babies. The SAA was a very clean and organised space.

After awhile Mahima was taken away to prepare for the Hindi handing over ceremony which was to take place at the SAA. I had dressed in an Indian outfit especially for the occasion. The older girls sat as the audience and watched the ceremony take place. This broke my heart as I thought about how many 'handing over ceremonies' these children had watched without ever being a part of one. As you can imagine younger children are more often adopted than older children. In saying this, in some countries (not NZ) Mahima would be considered an older adoption.

Near the end of the ceremony I was asked to speak. Talk about on the spot! I talked to the girls about how special and brave they were and that they were needed in this world. I talked about believing in themselves and being all that they could be. I didn't realise that the very next day was International Woman's Day.

We said goodbye to everyone after the ceremony and organised to meet at the Speech Language School the next morning. We arrived back at the hotel feeling absolutely exhausted due to jet lag and limited sleeping opportunities. Sharon and I both went straight to bed.

The next morning, March 8th, we were met at the hotel by Hemant who is one of the trustees of the SAA and who I had contact with in some of the video calls. We drove to the Speech Language School where we met Mahima and one of the careers. We were introduced to the teachers and watched Mahima in a lesson. We were then part of another ceremony where Sharon and I were given flowers to celebrate International Women's Day. I was then invited to participate in some Indian dancing to celebrate International Women's Day. 

We left the Speech Language School to sign papers at the SAA. I handed out chocolates to all the children at the SAA. This was especially lovely with the older girls as it became a joke when each girl would say 'Thank you' and I would say 'You're welcome' as there were more than 40 girls. Some of the girls wished me a happy international women's day which I reciprocated with much joy. I then walked out of the SAA with my little girl, Mahima Maisy Millar on March 8th, International Women's Day. Our Family Day.

We were both quite stunned and unsure of what to do next. Our first task was a five hour drive back to Nagpur to fly out the next morning. Thankfully Mahima didn't show any signs of car sickness. She fell asleep on me within the first half hour and slept for an hour or so. When she woke we gave her some snacks, chatted with her and entertained her. But as you can imagine she was quite withdrawn just taking in the whole experience. She was an absolute trooper during a very long car ride and Tuna, our guide, was amazing at helping us during this time. His crazy antics drew an occasional smile from Mahima.

Walking to the plane at Nagpur Airport

We stayed the night in Nagpur and early the next morning we flew back to Delhi. I was nervous about how Mahima would go in the aeroplane. I had put a photo of a plane in her photobook which the carers had talked to her about and I had a toy aeroplane that Mahima played with the night before in the hotel. Mahima was absolutely amazing in the plane. She was so excited to see all of the aeroplanes at the airport and loved take off and landing! Her Mummy could learn some tricks from her when flying. 

Now we were in Delhi it was time to see some sights... time for another car trip!