We're Home!

I was able to follow the stars right to the end of our journey as if completing a dot to dot puzzle. Things moved amazingly smoothly and finally we reached our last days at Kiran's house.

The goodbyes were heartfelt, especially from her boys. They decided they'd like to keep Amani so that they wouldn't have to say goodbye. We came up with a plan...we'd video-conference every so often so that the kids could see each other regularly. In fact, the boys ran upstairs and we remained downstairs. We turned on our computers and logged onto Yahoo Messenger. We were all able to see each other and chat just as we would be able to do after our departure.

Everyone in the household played a roll in making our stay comfortable. Kiran was the angel that helped bring us Amani and that played the roll of co-Mom, especially in the days before my mom arrived. Shehzad, her husband, made sure I got my fill of Hot-And-Spicy chicken rolls and beef chili when a midnight craving hit. Kiran's mother-in-law fed me as if I was the little baby. She scolded me for not have socks on Amani or enough layers...but then would always say how lucky Amani was to have such a doting mom.

We said our goodbyes in the middle of the night at the airport. The plane ride from Karachi to Dubai was easy (2.5 hours) but the Dubai to LA flight felt like an eternity (17 hours). When we finally reached the airport, everyone was waiting: Yogesh, Dad, Mamoo, Carol Aunty, Akbar bhai, Shawn and Shawn. Poor Amani kept crying so they didn't get to see her silly smile or bright eyes, but they seemed to love her as much as we do. The night was cold and we wrapped her in a stylish coat that came to her from Jehangir mamoo's family. We got her in the car and fed her. She finally calmed down and slept.

Once in the EuroVan, we headed to Kiranbhai's place (Yog's brother) and had a delicious enchilada dinner made by Ashaben. The Christmas lights were on at their place and it finally occured to me how much time had passed. The feeling of Christmas is in the air and with it, the magic and hope that seems to fill everyone's hearts. Amani's story seems to be even more heartwarming at this time of year when people are stopping to take the time to believe in bigger things.

You may be wondering about Amani's meeting with her daddy. It was love at first sight for both of them. Yogesh takes amazing care of her and she acted as if she had known him forever at their first meeting. I will put up some touching videos on www.dropshots.com/mrsanita

Amani is finally home. We feel so blessed. She's blessed too because she's got two families (or one big happy family) here in the US and in Pakistan. We thank God for his grace on our family.