The Kindness of Strangers

Our journey to become parents was filled with ups and down. Joyous almosts, and devastating disappointments. Today we look back on the experience and can simply say, “We were lucky, we ARE lucky!” We have two beautiful baby girls who never cease to bring smiles to our faces, warm our hearts, and keep us constantly on our toes. Sleep?  Nah, that’s a thing of the past and something I gladly will relinquish to continue this beautiful experience that began 11.5 months ago.

In preparation for becoming parents, Frank and I decided we would purchase and save a bottle of wine we so dearly love. The summer before parenthood, we traveled to France and brought back with us a bottle of Mac Vin. If you have not tasted this little bit of yumminess, trust me when I say it is truly fabulous. So, bottle of wine in our bag (no Mr. Customs officer, we are not carrying alcohol) we returned to Taiwan.

When Xian was brought home, we opened our bottle of Mac Vin and shared a Skype toast with Frank’s parents in France. When Sage was brought home, we shared an in-person toast with my mother. Upon the conclusion of both girls’ adoptions-7 months later, we finished the bottle. Let’s just say we grew quite attached to the bottle. I didn’t want to throw it out and wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. Then, I found out some people compress bottles down and convert them into cheese trays. What a wonderful idea! I found a lady on etsy who was up for the task. Sherry at Collectivekayos said she could add a nice piece of writing to the label as well.

 

Finally, our bottle was returned to us. . but wait, it didn’t quite look the same. Sherry had taken our original bottle, with the original label and made us a wall hanging, in addition to the cheese tray that read McGowan 2012. 

Below you will see the note she enclosed. Now, we have a cheese tray AND a beautiful wall hanging to remember the moment when our family was finally complete. The kindness of Sherry at CollectiveKayos was unexpected and definitely appreciated. Thanks Sherry!