Well, we are home-thank goodness. We left on Thursday and decided to break the 10 hour drive up over 2 days so Collin wouldn't be too stressed. We drove to the PA/NJ border the first day so we only had about 3 hours left to drive on Friday. We stayed in a cheap, scary hotel but we survived. The last time we took Collin out of town and stayed in a hotel he screamed bloody murder the whole night so we were hoping we would not have a repeat of that nightmare. He was a little cranky but slept just fine. We didn't have to rush too much since we only had 3 hours left to drive so we had breakfast and tried to wear Collin out as much as possible before getting back in the car.
We arrived in Huntington, New York Friday afternoon and met with Collin's foster father, Miguel and the rest of his family. They were very excited to see him. Collin didn't seem to remember him but managed to warm up to him about the time we were leaving to go home. There is no question that he has bonded with us.
We stayed at the seminary that Gonzalo, Miguel's brother, has been studying at for 5 years. It was very nice. Of course, once again I was very concerned that Collin would be too loud and disturb everyone but the place was empty and we had a whole wing to ourselves. The room was small bedroom with a double bed. Collin refused to sleep in the pack and play so the three of us squished in the double bed. If I thought I would fit in the pack and play I may have tried-but it was good family bonding time.
We visited with everyone for the rest of the evening and took lots of pictures. Miguel had strict orders from Mama Rosa to take lots of pictures of Collin. He followed her orders very well!
Saturday was the ordination. We had to get up very early. I think for the first time in a long time we actually had to wake Collin up and let me tell you he was not happy. We met everyone for breakfast and then headed for the church. Gonzalo was kind enough to solicit one of his friends that speaks English/Spanish to come with us and translate. Collin lasted about and hour in church which was quite commendable. Wyatt finally took him out. The ceremony lasted 2 1/2 hours! We headed to lunch and Collin was in rare form. No Nap = Bad Boy!! We were both VERY stressed by the end of lunch. Lunch took much longer than we had planned so we had to go straight to the reception. Of course, everyone wanted to hold Collin and he was not having it! He just wanted to play on the stairs were all the people were trying to come in. Every time I would remove him from the stairs he would flip out and throw himself on the floor-a trick he learned from his cousin that I had hoped we could avoid. No such luck! And how thoughtful of him to decide to display a command performance in front of a room full of church people!! He knows what he's doing.
Finally we had all we could take and decided now was a good time to leave. He would have to sleep in the car-he was so tired! We went back and packed our stuff which gave Miguel some one on one time with Collin to say goodbye. We loaded up and headed home. I know Miguel was so happy to see Collin but I think it caused mixed emotions for all of us.
They provided him with a very loving family for 7 months of his life. They gave him a great start in life. I am sure it is difficult to see Collin again and not have him immediately recognize them. I am sure, some day when we go back to Guatemala that no matter how much we talk about Mama Rosa and her family that he will probably not remember them like they remember him. I am sure that will be hard. It is simply impossible to maintain the bond that they had.
On the other hand, I feel selfish. It is hard to share him. A deep selfish part of me loves it when he grabs for me and cries for me and clings to my neck for safety from all the strange people wanting to hold him. He is our baby and it is simply hard to let go of him after waiting for him for so long.
We eventually made it home. We were both a big bundle of stress but we made it home and it made me appreciate all over again the miracle of Collin coming home to us.
Here are a few more pics from the trip. We have Collin in bed refusing to get up and poor Collin's brain turning to mush by being forced to watch 10 hours of videos! The daylight picture is in the morning when we began and the nighttime picture is that night-notice it is essentially the same picture but about 8 hours late. He was a trooper!
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