snapshots, notes on napkins

It's been more than a few days since I posted anything here, and it's not because nothing's happened. On the contrary. I've just been a bit busy with other things. We went to the consulate, got Ji's visa, took oaths, finished paperwork, moved hotels, walked through packed streets and markets, tried to say goodbye to the place of our daughter's birth, a strangely moving few days for us. What I have instead of stories are notes. Here's what the 32 hours of yesterday looks like on the back of a napkin: Awake before first light. A taxi away from the hotel and into the dawn. Through the city, waking up. Out to the airport on the outskirts. Check-in. Wait. Board. Carry-on luggage. So much stuff. Flight. Bassinet. Tokyo. Wait. New gate. Lift off again. JAL. Dinner, japanese style, fresh fish, reasonable portions, even on a plane. Shades pulled down, artificial night. A mobile from the flight attendant, hung above the seat - origami. A dozen hours against the sun. International date line. A novel, a movie, a novel, a newspaper.Ji Xia holding a finger offerred between the seats from behind us. A walk down the aisle and back, collecting waves from passengers awake in the middle of artificial night. SFO approach. Land. Borders. Immigration - standing with Ji's Chinese passport in in the line for non-US citizens A sealed package handed over the counter to an immigration official. Stamps. Forms. A new U.S. citizen. Customs. Luggage. Automatic doors opening, San Francisco beyond.

When I get a minute I'll get all these napkins from these past few days collected into something readable. I'll put a bunch of photos up here too. Meanwhile, there's this: Thank you all for such solid support. This journey isn't merely about Crescent and I going to get Ji Xia. It's about friends and family. All of us. We are home.