Back in 2005, while Mark and I were putting our dossier together to adopt "A dear little one" from China Gymboree put out The Little Lady Line in their stores. It was pink, it was pretty, and full of ladybugs. As some of you may or may not know, ladybugs are a sign of good fortune in Chinese adoption. The China adoption Yahoo groups were abuzz of these ladybug delights. I am certain a lot of retail therapy took place shortly after. Needless to say I was smitten by this line. I wanted to buy every single piece available until I figured that I could pay my car payment and then some with what I would be spending. No purchase was made, and life went on just fine.
About 1.5 years later I was wasting time at the mall, and their happened to be exactly one dress, and one hair bow from the Little Lady line on the clearance rack at Gymboree for a rock bottom price. I felt like I had won the lottery. Still no referral, so I didn't know what size she would be. For all I knew at that time "she" could be a "he." Still, I bought it with hopes that some day, my daughter, whoever she was, would wear it.
When the time came to make the journey to China, Mark thought I was out of my mind when I told him that she HAD to wear the ladybug dress for her Consulate appointment. He didn't understand it, but obeyed my wishes:-) She then managed to get a large portion of that evening's dinner on the dress. The picture told the dirty truth, but thanks to a combination of staining fighting products, the dress was as good as new. The only other time Carina wore this dress was on her readoption day. I don't think it will ever be worn again either. However, it will be kept in a safe place, just in case.
When I look back, that dress represented hope. The adoption process felt like an endless journey of paper work and red tape. At the time, hope kept me focused through the unknowns. I am thankful that I was strong enough to hope, strong enough to dream, and strong enough to wait. There certainly were a lot of twists and turns along the way, but my "little lady" finally came home.
