Jeremy Statton

Living Better Stories

Tomorrow We Leave

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I want you to meet Sean. His Chinese name is Xin Min (pronounced “Shen Men”). We will name him Sean XinMin Statton. And tomorrow we leave to meet him and make him our son.

The story has been a short, but stressful one. It almost didn’t happen.

We first learned about Sean in August. My wife received an email highlighting his case. I don’t know why my wife subscribes to such an email list. The only thing that can happen is that you will see. You will see kids who need families and parents. You will see kids who need medical help. You will see kids who need love.

And she saw Sean’s picture. And then after clicking on a few links, she saw a video of him. And she read his story. And then she started seeing him even when her eyes were closed. She started seeing him in her heart.

This is why so many of us live life with our eyes closed. We choose ignorance on purpose. Because once you see, once you open your eyes to the light, you can never close them again. Once you see light, the darkness will never satisfy.

As soon as you allow yourself to see what is true, you heart will begin to love.

January 13

The big issue with Sean is that he must be adopted before January 13. He turns 14 that day, and by Chinese law, would no longer be eligible to be adopted.

We’ve been asked what happens to kids who age out of the system. We don’t know. Our best guess is that at age of 18, the orphanage opens the door and waves good-bye.

We asked ourselves if we could do this. Can we do more? And even though there were a million reasons to say no, there was one reason to say yes. The reason was Sean.

When we expressed interest in him, the agency paused. They hoped that a family further along in the process would come along. The timing was already short. All of us wondered if everything could get done in time.

In the end, we were it. And even though we were already behind, we were the only ones who stepped forward.

 

3 Days Ago

In mid to late October we felt very good about the progress. I stopped doubting whether or not we would have enough time. But then in late November I realized it was going to be close.

We had hoped to know for certain at least 2 weeks before we traveled. Two weeks is short enough when making travel plans. We only found out for certain 3 days ago.

We don’t even know if he knows we are coming. Nobody at the agency or orphanage wanted to tell him we were pursuing him, just in case it didn’t happen.

We’ve already been nervous about whether or not it would happen. And now that it is we are still nervous. We are scared. We are excited. And we are exhausted.

But no matter what happens next, he is worth it.

And so we are off to meet him. And to bring him home.

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About Jeremy Statton

Jeremy is a writer and an orthopedic surgeon. When not ridding the world of pain, he helps you live a better story. Follow him on Twitter or Facebook or Google +.

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