Six Months

For the last 14 months, a piece of me has been missing and without it I have not felt like myself. When I left Guatemala on October 3, 2007, I hoped to return within a year to start doing the work I knew I had to do, but during the year different things took place which prevented me from getting back as quickly as I had hoped. I’ve spent much time since then living in the past…walking the streets of Guatemala only in my mind. Of course, I am thrilled that Tommy was finally able to come, but when he filled the huge hole in my heart that was open only for him, another hole was formed the day we left his birth country.

All of this feels like another adoption and in a way, it is. Longing for something yet being able to do little about it for a while. Researching until there is no research left to do. Waiting the heart wrenching wait for the right time. Raising money. Counting down the days to travel. Feeling breathless as the time to leave draws closer. Dreaming of what will be. Praying for strength to endure the obstacles ahead. Overcoming fear of the unknown. Uncertainty of who to trust and who not to. Just as we love Tommy as if he were our biological child, we also love Guatemala as if it is our home country. It makes our love for the U.S. no less, but it is equal. When we adopted Tommy, we also adopted Guatemala and just as we are committed to our son as most parents are to their children, we are also committed to Guatemala.

I am no longer living the past in regards to my hopes and dreams for Guatemala because there is now so much to look forward to.

Six months from today, I will be in Guatemala again. Six months from this moment, my feet will once again touch the soil of the country where I left a huge part of myself. Six months from now, Danny will see Guatemala in a way he never has before and it will undoubtedly change his life. Six months and Tommy will return to his birth country. Six months. 182 days. 4368 hours. The excitement intensifies each day and I honestly do not know how I will be able to stand the wait. I am overwhelmed with joy!

Bobbi, from Party of Five (www.bobbi-partyoffive.blogspot.com), and her family (her husband and 3 children) will be traveling with us. We met Bobbi and Joe during our first visit trip in March 2007. It was our first time to be with Tommy, but they were on their pickup trip. My first memory of Bobbi is her running into the family room in a panic because she had opened an envelope she wasn’t supposed to open. My most memorable memory of Bobbi is her walking into the lobby after their embassy appointment and taking the time to come talk to a heartbroken mom (me) that was about to give her child back his foster mom and then leave the country. Her words, “One day this will be over and you’ll bring him home.” stayed with me throughout our process and while I was never able to shake the fear of losing him before he came home, just knowing that people had made it to the end of the process and were still supporting those that were in process meant so much to me. Somehow, a few months after the last day I saw Bobbi, Joe and Reese, we came across each other’s blogs. Bobbi, as always, was a great source of support during my months in Guatemala and continues to be to this day.

Her passion for Guatemala is intense and deep . Because of that, she has agreed to be a member of our board and I believe that she will be instrumental (she already is) in helping to get this going, helping it to grow and making it what it is supposed to be. Her husband, Joe, is also passionate about Guatemala and is eager to help in any way he can. Her daughters, Cassie and Krista, sound like 2 little humanitarians in the making and it will be wonderful to finally meet them. And sweet, whacky Reese….he and Tommy will get along great, I’m sure. It’s going to be so much fun watching 2 Guatetots get to know each other and start what I hope to be a long friendship.

Six months until we leave. Six months until some lives change and some lives really begin. Six months until 2 children adopted from Guatemala return and begin to learn much about their birth countries. Six months until two families are reunited for a different reason, a different purpose. Six months. Life is good!

(In case I forgot to mention it a few days ago, we ended up being able to reserve Casa Bella because the owner graciously postponed her trip a few days just so we could stay there. So it’s booked!)