When we first woke up this morning, for a brief instant I pondered what fun things we had planned for the day. It quickly hit me that this is the day we’ve been dreading. Today the kids must return to Latvia. Luckily, we had packed their things the night before so we were able to take the time to go out for a nice leisurely breakfast. While sitting there we cut up with each other as usual, but there was a sadness in the air. I had to try to focus on other things because I felt like I would cry at any second if I thought too much about them leaving. For the most part I held it together until we got to the airport.
On the way to the airport, we found a place to stop so we could say our official goodbyes. We had to tell them, “we say goodbye now, because we cry at airport.” Of course they laughed at us but we just hugged them and told them over and over how much we loved them. Then the tears started so we quickly composed ourselves and continued our drive to the airport. The whole way to the airport, the events of the past four weeks replayed in my mind like a movie. It was so tempting to just pass up the airport and keep on driving, but of course that wasn’t an option. We ultimately decided that the Latvian government would probably frown upon that and hold it against us in our adoption hearings. LOL!
At the airport it was so good to see the other families. We were all in this together and there to support each other. The inevitable moment of separation was quickly approaching and I only wished somehow we could stop time from passing so we could have just a few more moments with them. Soon they were all summoned to the security line to make their way to their gate. We both grabbed them and just hugged them so tight and kept telling them how much we loved them until we had to let them go. We weren’t allowed to accompany them to their gate but had to watch them walk away from a glass hallway that ran the length of the security line. We lined up along the glass with the other families and the tears just flowed and flowed. Olegs remained composed but kept looking back and waving at us until he was out of sight. Kristine, with tears flowing, held onto her girlfriend, Gertrude for comfort as she followed. The heartache seemed unbearable as we watched them walk away. For four weeks we bonded as a family and now it was like the rug was pulled out from underneath us. One thing that meant a lot to us was that our pastor took the time to come to the airport and support all of us. He led all of the families in a nice prayer that was really comforting.
The ride home was difficult as we dreaded going home to our quiet house. We couldn’t bear to hear the Kelly Clarkson CD that was in the CD player as that was Kristine’s favorite. That used to be my favorite CD but now it makes me cry. In time I know that will change. We got home and the house seemed so empty. Even Winston was looking for the children and seemed depressed too. Our hearts are broken right now, but we told ourselves we wouldn’t sink into a depression. We have to focus on the next steps in our journey and get our paperwork together so we can officially request to adopt them. We’ve got to get these kids back!!
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