We have celebrated two Adoption Days and three Birthdays with Kai, all of which have felt like huge milestones. But today we mark a different day with him, one that will never come to pass again. Today we are not marking an anniversary, it’s not a special day of the year, or month or week, but rather, it is a span of time.

It was two years, eight months, and thirty days ago that we first met Kai on a warm and sunny afternoon in September, in an office of the Social Welfare institute in the city of Baoding, China. It was a full moon that evening, the fullest moon of the year, and China was celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival - Moon Festival, a special holiday for families. So at the last minute the SWI directors moved Kai’s adoption day up by one, to let him be with his new family for this special day.

Two years, eight months, and thirty days ago.

Two years, eight months, and thirty days before that, was the day Kai was born. Interestingly enough, There was a full moon that day as well.

Today is the day that marks a changing point in time. For Kai has now been a part of our family for as long as the time he lived before we met him. Every day after this, the balance will shift further and further. I believe, that on a conscious level, for Kai this “shift” happened a long time ago. We talk about his life in China a lot, and look at pictures we have of him before his adoption. I know he remembers our return visit to Baoding and seeing his nanny Chin-yen when we traveled to adopt Shen. But I don’t know what, if anything, he can concretely recall from his life before the adoption. So while this day may not be of any great significance to him, it is for us. On a feeling level, it seems as if Kai has always been ours, but when I stop and truly think about it, two years and roughly 9 months is a very short span of time. And while I hate the thought of rushing through my days any faster, much of the work in helping adopted children to fit, and really feel they belong with their new families comes down to the simple passage of time.

This evening as I look up at a not quite full moon, and recall first meeting this small, timid, and confused little boy who looked upon us with apprehension and worry, I am amazed to see the outgoing and playful child who now runs up to greet me with hugs and kisses! I cherish each of the last two years, eight months, and thirty days, but am glad too for their passing and am grateful for the changes they have brought about in Kai and our family.