Reflection: Part 7

Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Mommy & 'Drama's Last Day with You

It is Wednesday night...we said goodbye to you about three hours ago. Today was a much better day with you.

You had a bit of a rough night-went to bed at 7pm-woke up at 10pm to eat-then you woke up at 3am and were very unhappy. It took you a good hour to go back to sleep. You then slept until almost 10am! You got up and we fed you-then gave you a bath-you were not happy!!!
Mommy thought this was interesting since you loved bathtime during our last visit.

Since Mommy and 'Drama's dinner and dessert (ice cream) got cold and melted last night due to our exciting news from PGN, we had no way to do your birthday dinner. So, we improvised and put your "1" candle in your pancakes-ok Mommy's pancakes. We sang "Happy Birthday" to you and we blew out your candle. :)





3pm rolled around and we got ready to take you back to the orphange. Mommy and 'Drama sat outside for about a half our with you while we waited for Roberto to pick us up. The atmosphere was great. We sat and enjoyed the breeze and the fountain in the courtyard.
We lifted you high in the air and made you laugh! Roberto came and the first thing he asked us was if we had talked to our agency. I said YES! He handed me a copy of the PGN opinion and also shared that your friend Timmy had gotten out of PGN THE SAME DAY!

We rode back to the orphange and this time, Mommy handed you back to Sylvia with a smile on her face. I knew we'd be returning soon to bring you home forever. The look on Sylvia's face was priceless when she saw you again. She spoke to you in Spanish and your face lite up when you saw her. We asked to take pictures of some of the other waiting children. We can't wait to bring you home little man!!

Adios,
Mommy

This visit was such a great experience. It gave me a chance to spend some one on one time with my own Mom and seeing her meet her grandson was priceless. I remember she put a paperback book next to him and compared the size. :) There is/was something about being in Guatemala. A slower pace of life, while hard to get used to at first, we welcomed each trip after. The kindness and humble spirits of the Guatemalan people. The staff at the hotel, especially the front desk were amazing. They helped you with anything and everything. We were able to spend more time with AJ, which revealed some not so great things, but gave me a chance to enjoy my son without trying to cram it all into 24 hours.

It was also bittersweet as we met many families who were all in the same boat...we were all waiting for PGN. As much as I wanted to run across the dining area and scream "YAY were out!", there were many families eating with and without their children. Knowing how that feels, I knew that wasn't appropriate. The concept of why a family who is "IN" for 8 weeks gets out when another family who has been in for 16 weeks and kicked out twice and is still "IN" makes no sense.

When we went back to the orphange and took pictures for other waiting families, we met some of the older children in the front courtyard. When those children come up to you and exclaim "Hola! Hola!", it is the most sweet and innocent action combined with such sadness. My Mom and I left wanting to put them all on the plane with us.


I had also brought "Diego" themed plates and party hats to celebrate AJ's birthday with other families visiting at the hotel. When I realized he still wasn't sitting up, eating solids, or anyhting else I was hoping he might be doing, his birthday celebration sort of went down the tubes. I still watch the video of his birthday pancakes and feel sad. This visit showed us he was an orphange baby and would need lots of love and a bit of therapy when he got home. Not so bad we thought. We had already been in touch with the new pediatrician starting her practice at Jeremy's clinic and we had everything in place for him to get involved in Birth to Three and see a Development Specialist. He was a premie. He's been in group care. He's going to be developmentally behind a bit. Yep. Not so bad.

On AJ's actual birthday, we flew home. On our flight from Charlotte, NC to Milwaukee, we flew over Lake Michigan. I saw the fireworks over the Summerfest grounds and wished my baby boy a very happy birthday and whispered, "We'll see you soon."