A VERY HAPPY DAY!!
So hard to believe it was just one year ago today that Jill and I arrived in the lobby of the Westin Camino Real in Guatemala City to find our facilitator Aura, and our foster mom holding the most beautiful little princessa in all of Guatemala, tiny Lady Diana De Los Angeles Garcia Realegeno! We were so happy to see her there in the arms of her wonderful foster mother, and yet so sad to think what this woman must be feeling as she saw us approach Emily and her entourage. Our apparent joy, surely meant heartache for her to say good bye to little Lady Diana after caring for this baby day and night for 13 months. She had to be sad, and she had to be wondering if we would take care of her girl. She had to be hopeful that this baby would have a bright future in America. She must have seen the love on my face and in my heart as I knelt down beside her to reconnect with this little girl I had not seen in 3 months. As I held out a little toy that had been her favorite back in July, she seemed to remember me. As our foster mother nudged her towards me, she just held out her arms and came to me with no tears. I loved how she felt in my arms again. I knew this was right! With our unspoken words, one mother to another, the love we shared for this baby was real devotion and a faithful bond. She gave me a huge hug, we cried a little as we tried to say "thank you" - with a translator to help us. It was 'thank you for loving her until I got here' and 'thank you for loving her for the rest of her life',...it was a very quiet exchange and very sweet. I'll never forget it. I was also very thankful to Aura and her husband for finally seeing this adoption to it's final stages in such a tough atmosphere as Guatemala. I wish I could have spent more time with them both. My only connection to her was through our agency, but I believe she was a very kind woman who honestly loved the children she tried to help through facilitating adoptions.
We were lucky enough to have our friends Scott, Andrea, and their new daughter Anna there for support in both the 'tears' (sniff sniff) and 'video/camera' department. (Thank you for being there to document this for us!) I was so glad to have Jill there to. Her arms were strong and mine were shaking with excitement. She kept me grounded, and reminded me to breathe. Emily was enamoured with Jill's smile right away. It was truly a happy moment. These sisters were smitten with each other, and I knew her siblings at home would feel the same way! I was shocked at how much Emily had changed in such a short time. She was walking, talking, had more teeth and a lot more hair. I knew I had sadly missed even more of her precious life. It felt so good to finally be at the end of a process that lasted more than two years and carried my heart to, now, 3 little girls. Although, I would only be able to bring one of them home from Guatemala, my heart will never leave that country or Jennifer and Maria, the little girls I love and left behind there.
I totally credit the assistance I received from the wonderful people at Adoption Supervisors Guatemala for Emily Belle being home with me today. They were the salvation for her case and my sanity. They were all wonderful and will always remain my friends. The staff at ASG showed me the true spirit and kind hearts of the people of Guatemala. They care about the future of the children there, and the future of their country. They care about ethics in adoptions and know how to ease the fears of waiting parents with true information on their cases. One day Emily will ask me about her adoption and Guatemala. Thankfully, I will have what they shared with me to assure her that all was in order, and the wishes of her birth family were followed. We still hope to meet her birth mom one day. It would be an honor and a privilege I hope we can give Emily Belle as she grows up. Her El Salvadorian heritage, Guatemalan adoption, and American childhood will certainly add many facets to the life of this extraordinary and fascinating little girl. What a blessed family we are to have the smile of Emily Belle in our lives today, what a miracle she is indeed!
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