December 7th Anniversary

December 7th is Pearl Harbor Day. The day the Japanese attacked the United States in 1941. December 7th, 2012 is a special anniversary, too.

We all remember where we were and what we were doing when major events happen. The San Bernadino shooting. 9/11. The Kennedy Assassination. Pearl Harbor Day. These are just a few major events in US history.

We all have different life events that are pretty special. I have one that I'd like to share.

A few years ago, I made a New Year's Resolution that I wanted to be a Dad. My wife and I were introduced to our son Justin. While we were bringing him home, he introduced us to his brother.

Justin introduced him to us as, "This is Ethan, my brother!" Justin stood very tall, and puffed out his chest.

Our trip to bring Ethan home was in November and December of 2012. He and Justin were from the same orphanage, The Cradle of Children's Hope, in Novisilky, a little village just outside of Kiev, Ukraine. I got to experience Fall and Winter, pretty much like here in Rochester. I got to experience Thanksgiving there, too. Our host invited friends over, and Ethan helped make a dish for the meal. Some of them knew a little English. I know four words in Ukraine. They asked me to say the blessing over Thanksgiving Dinner. Let me tell you, I was thankful for a lot that year, and every year since.

The first snowfall of the season was huge that year in Kiev. I didn't see people using snowthrowers. Most people in Ukraine do not have clothes dryers in their apartments or homes. They air dry their clothes. Take as long as you need to wrap your brain around that. They didn't have snowthrowers, either apparently. They use shovels. Some shovels looked like that pancake turner the late John Candy used in Uncle Buck. Street crews used shovels and wheel-barrows to move snow.

The last week in Ukraine was a mad rush to get Ethan's passport, visa and physical. Friday, December 7th, 2012 was our nineteen-hour flight from Kiev to MSP. We were driven to the airport at 3:30 am. Showing our passports, the soldier pulled us aside into a small office with about three other uniformed officers. They asked my son if he really wanted to come to the US with me. Then there was an announcement that our connection to Frankfurt was cancelled due to runway conditions. A gentleman sitting next to us told me that there would be another announcement reversing that. There was. This gentleman was fluent in both English and Ukrainian and said that if I wanted to talk with Ethan, he would translate. It was a moment where I couldn't think of anything, and yet, I had a lot to say to my son. When we got to Frankfurt, I noticed that there wasn't much snow on the ground there. On the flight to MSP, Ethan settled in and was watching movies, laughing pretty loud. A guy sitting across the aisle from us smiled at me.

We had friends welcoming us home at MSP. We still have the big signs that they made, "Welcome Home, Ethan!"

December 7th may be "a date that will live in infamy", but for me it's a very special date for a different reason. It's the day our son, Ethan, came home forever.

If you want to follow his story more, along with his brother, Justin, and sister, Bella, you can do that here.