Apartmento

Arrival in Bogota

We made it! We probably got to our apartment around midnight as best as I can gather. Our apartment is small- despite having three bedrooms and one bath- and the area seems very secure. The apartment complex seems more like a compound with a little park for the kiddos (which there seem to be a lot of in this areaJ) and even a little outdoor stage with seating? Will have to see what that is all about. Over all it’s nice and seems convenient but, definitely not home. We woke up early again to all of the big city noises and smells. I have to say that from what I see so far it is clean and beautiful. Our “helper/driver” Jorge was telling me they are doing a lot of construction around here and planting a lot of trees.

Now on to more important things….After we figure out how to get some groceries (thank goodness I packed that oatmeal and Starbucks via coffee) I will call a taxi and go see my kids. I am so excited to see them. I can’t wait to see how much they have grown but, more importantly to get them back “home.” I hope that we can spend a good portion of today and tomorrow trying to catch up before our court appointment on Thursday when they will be living with us.
I miss my children back in Ohio too it’s really hard. But, one normal thing was that I got to call them this morning just like I would when I am at work. It made it seem more normal. Which leads me to the magic jack thing…it works great. We have a Kent number so all we have to do is dial as if we were home, no extra numbers or anything. And it is basically free. Good idea Jim!!!

Thinking of every one back home....
Pam

Last work day before travel!

It's finally starting to sink in and my head is spinning. I am on my last day of work before leaving for Colombia. I have so much nervous energy right now it's crazy! I have this running list of things I need to do before we leave and feel the need to get it all done but, yet I am almost missing my job, good friends and my whole life here. I think ambivalence sums it up well. It's that feeling of wanting the day to fly by yet for time to stand still. I suppose the day will happen one way or another and it will be another chapter in the journey. To all of my work friends I will miss you terribly!

Pammajamma

Chicago

Well here we are in Chicago it's visa day! After the near miss that I discovered at work on Friday- piece of paper that had to be apostilled- we seem to be here and in one piece. Now if we can get into the city in three hours time- we are about an hour out at our hotel- get a money order and find a place to park. this will be a challenge. If worse comes to worse we will have to do what we did yesterday. I will run into the various offices while Jim drives around the block 500 times. With the price of gas (paid $4.45/gallon in Indiana) and the price of parking it's kind of a six one half a dozen the other sort of deal. Well off we go here's hoping!

Where shall I live?

So I still don't know where I'm going to live and I'm still not real happy about what I will be paying once I do find a place to live in Bogota. It seems that you pay for safety not amenities or square footage. I have a hard time paying $75 a night for a room at an adoption house. I brought it up to my agency people who were looking for me and giving me the contacts they knew but I would be paying $100 to $110 per night. So one month would be roughly $3300??? Don't get me wrong they were beautiful places with maid service, and many other amenities. They were also furnished beautifully and many of the apartments boasted crisp white furnishings. Hello? I am adopting an 11 year old boy and a 15 year old girl. Granted they are not destructive but they are ACTIVE KIDS! I would be a nervous wreak that on top of the astronomical amount I would be paying I would also end up refurnishing the place. No Thanks. I would much rather have the extra money to have some fun with Angie and Camilo. In short I need the apartment fairies to visit, and fast!

Moving Right Along

I am admittedly really bad about record keeping. My family photo albums are in a box (not in an album) somewhere. I always have best of intentions and what I think are really good ideas for documenting my children's' happenings but, I get busy. Ya I'll go with that one. Well, now I really need to fill in the blanks. We are going to Colombia in a little over a month and I'm facing a lot of time to dwell on anything and everything. Now more than ever it is important to talk about, photograph and relay my out of the ordinary, average story. So with that I will blog my heart out. It's so interesting that when you least expect it things just happen. It's apparently a lesson I haven't "gotten" yet, something about patience. I also may or may not be a bit of a control freak. Here we are though, airplane tickets are bought we're looking for an AFFORDABLE place to stay in Colombia and it's happening. We are going to adopt Angie and Camilo!!! We worked so hard for this and even though at time we lost all hope we (Angie and Camilo included) hung in there. Regardless of my inclination to control it and make it happen I really didn't. It ended up a divine lining up of circumstances and who knows what else to pave the way. What is amazing is that the last few times that I had talked on the phone with Angie and Camilo it was hard to communicate. I had lost my Spanglish and they seems to be digressing with their English. Today I talked to Angie and even though she sounded so grown up we were able to communicate. She told me how happy she was we were coming...in ENGLISH. And it all clicked back into place. Please don't misunderstand that I feel the levity of this situation. I almost have a panic attack when I think of the responsibility and the importance of my own ability to not only provide the essentials but, also the backbone for them and yet that soft place to land when things don't go so well. I have to be kind but firm and yet advocate for them. It's really weird sometimes how I think of their position. Maybe it's that "are you crazy" part that I hear from people who find out we are adopting. However, I feel like Angie and Camilo have such and opportunity to know two realities. One of life in an orphanage and the icky stuff that happened to land them there. They know how to fight and survive and thrive, they come to us with that. and they have the opportunity that most never have to know that life and then to experience a very different life. It has the potential to shape them into phenomenal people. So when I start doubting and worrying about everything involved in this adoption I think of our investment in the future of Angie and Camilo and who can argue with that? I may not ever have a new car again and I may not wear the latest labels but my net gain from my investment will be better than any object I can imagine.

Goodbye 2010

I created this blog originally to document my journey. So many things were happening, I was running like crazy, awaiting the approval to adopt Angie and Camilo and contemplating a mini career change. Then the bottom fell out. I injured myself by running too much, and nothing went right with the adoption. There was disappointment after disappointment. Way too much dirt to get into. I did make the change in my career and, although it was a great move, it was stressful in different ways and... I had to go back to nights.

Life was simply chugging along and I was just keeping my head above water. I returned to running but it was difficult to train due to my crazy schedule. I did however beat my previous time at Roadrunner in the half. I had also come to the conclusion that we were not likely to be approved to adopt Angie and Camilo and all the hoops we kept jumping through were in vain. I just knew they were trying to wear us out.

Then things changed almost overnight. In early December a co-worker, who recently started working day shift, decided she would like to go back to nights so we swapped positions. I started day shift the Monday after Christmas. Less than a week after getting the news about work, I also received a call on December ninth ( we were celebrating Collin's Birthday which is on the eighth and it was Camilo's Birthday) that it looked like were were going to be approved to adopt Angie and Camilo. Things are once again going well.

I went for a run yesterday I didn't take my Garmin nor a watch. I don't know how far or how long I ran, I just did. At the end the clarity was amazing, there was no second guessing whether I could have done better, gone faster, farther. And I felt empowered and that for the first time in a long time, that happiness and my life, in general, was up to me. I really do have the reigns. I suppose that I never really lost complete faith but, man have I been down. I have spent a good portion of 2010 suppressed and withdrawn. I now know that I do not want 2011 to have the same fate, and it shouldn't. I have hung in there and waited out the uncomfortable and ugly that dominated my life for a good portion of a year. I am now ready to live, ready to just do whatever it takes to be happy living. No nonsense just pure love and laughter!

Happy New Year to you and me!!!