A Major Milestone…

1,571 days… 37,704 hours… 2,262,240 minutes… 135,374,400 seconds – these numbers will mean nothing to you; however, they mean something to our family and even more so, these numbers mean everything to Chloe. These figures represent her “other life” – the 1,571days she spent in the orphanage in Behai, China. The 37,704 minutes she didn’t have a mom and a dad to love on her or embrace her. The 2,262,240 minutes she lived in a survival mode – as yes, it is the survival of the fittest in many cases. For every adoptive parent and child, one day is one day too long. The best news on this weekend is, this was a past chapter in Chloe’s life and we have finally turned another page on the calendar.
I have found it compelling that the date of January 12th has had quite a significant impact in our family. On January 12, 1996 our beautiful daughter Jillian was born. Words cannot even describe what kind of a blessing and young lady she has become. Each day, I am reservedly counting that moment when she embraces a new adventure and heads off to college… only 18 months and counting. One year later, January 12, 1997, we said good-bye to my mother as she passed from this life into eternity. I can still see her face, hear her voice and feel the softness of her hands. Often when I think about her, I think how she would have loved and been so proud of all of her grandchildren. The day we meet again is a day I am more than looking forward to. Then there is January 12, 2013 – this is the first day Chloe has been with us longer than she lived as an orphan – 1, 571 days in the orphanage, 1,572 days as a Dabrowski. It’s hard to believe it’s been four and a half years and it’s difficult to imagine it has taken this long to crest that “magical” number. I can still remember the first couple of nights Chloe spent with us. During the day she seemed happy and joyful, but at night, she would softly cry herself to sleep as she left behind everything she knew. As today we gathered around the dinner table celebrating Chloe [with Chinese food, of course…], neither Jody nor I could bring ourselves to pray as we were too emotionally moved by the fact of the wonderful blessing we have received – her love, her laughter, her responsible nature, her very unique personality. She is such an amazing life, and our prayer for her is the same as all of our kids – she would do some amazing things for God. On this weekend, we celebrate Chloe – not for who she used to be, but for who she is – a precious life who is forever ours.