Christina and I hung out at the flat most of the day. Daiga, our translator, came over around lunch time to bring all of our translated documents, many of which I'll need to give to the embassy in Warsaw. She had Christina's new passport, new birth certificate, translated copies of all court decisions, etc. It is so strange to see mine and Robert's names on this new birth certificate. I spent a good amount of time combing through each document to make sure we have everything we need. One thing I have to say is that our attorney, Agnese, and Daiga have taken care of everything for us. I don't expect any problems in Warsaw.
When Ilga finished work, she came and picked us up for the drive to Christina's children's home. They had already had a party for Christina last week, but today she had to pick up her things. I also needed to deliver gifts for the director and social worker and donations for the children. Thanks again to all of you who donated clothes, games, toothbrushes, etc. The director was extremely grateful for these items. When we got there, Ilga G., the director, was all smiles. She is such a nice lady. She gives the biggest bear hugs and when I went to hug her I felt like I was a rag doll almost being swept off my feet. She also gave me a couple of hard smacks on the back afterwards...the kind that knock your breath out. LOL!
Christina went to her room to pack her things and came back soon after with a trail of friends following her. We got many pictures of her and her friends. They even brought the children's home resident dog into the director's office so we could take pictures with the dog too. That also tells you the director is a nice woman. Any person who will allow a dog in their office is alright in my book. The children were all smiles during picture time. I've gotten to know a few of the children since they've seen me before and some visited the U.S. during the hosting time. They come up to me and give me hugs now. Ilga G. says they all want to come to America now. I've heard a couple of Christina's friends will be hosted this summer but it's a secret right now. The kids don't know it yet and Christina doesn't know. We'll probably tell Christina at the last minute too so it can be a big surprise. She'll be so excited when she finds out.
When it came time for final goodbyes, the mood changed. There was a trail of sad girls following Christina. I was the last out the door and had to stop when I saw Christina's best friend, Agnese, off by herself in the corner crying and crying. I just went up to her and hugged her tight for the longest time, brushed her hair out of her face and gave her a kiss on the forehead and told her all would be okay. She grabbed onto me and didn't want to let go so I started balling. I told her that we would not forget her and that we would write her letters. I didn't want to let her go, but finally had to because Ilga was ready. WHEW! We were all emotionally spent after that visit. I well up just thinking about it.Christina was understandably upset on the ride back to the flat and of course, that made me cry again. Then I realized I forgot to ask the director for Christina's school documents. I was supposed to pick those up and pass them on to our translator later this evening so she could translate them for me. So poor Ilga had to turn the car around and go back in rush hour traffic. Yes, they have traffic jams here too and they are equally as frustrating when you're trying to get somewhere quickly. Ilga was so understanding and we were able to laugh about it. The frustrating part was that we made the trek all the way back to the children's home only to find that no one knew where the documents were so we couldn't get them anyway. I had to call Daiga and cancel our meeting. Daiga was also understanding and said she'd take care of it the next day. Oh well.
Our attorney, Agnese, came over tonight to deliver documents so it was good to see her one last time. We got to talk a little about Olegs' case. There is still no news there and we still don't know what he will ultimately want to do. He is receiving pressure from his Latvian family to stay in Latvia. However, the poor guy is living in a children's home. As we've said before, we'll be fine if he stays in Latvia if that's what is meant to be. We just want his Latvian family to take him out of the children's home and give him a home. It's not fair for him to have to grow up in a children's home when he has family. It's so hard to understand.
After Agnese left, it was just me and Christina. It hit me that she had all of her things in one suitcase...her whole life was basically in that suitcase. We fixed something to eat and later she wanted to show me her things in her suitcase. She showed me a couple of pictures from when she was little and I just lost it. I couldn't stop crying. I told her that I was crying because I missed out on so much of her life. I only wish I had known her then so I could have been taking care of her when she was little. I told her those pictures are precious and we have to save them forever. Then that made her cry so we just sat there and cried together. Then she showed me some mementos that her parents and other family members gave her to keep. She cried again as she told me about them. We talked about how it was good for us to cry. It was a good experience because I feel if we can let out all of this emotion we can move forward in our new life together. I told her that this is such a happy time for me and Robert because we're so happy to have a new daughter, but we realize that this is also a time of loss for her so it's normal if she's not happy right now.
We promised Christina that we won't share her personal information about her Latvian family and life in Latvia. That story is hers to tell if and when she chooses to. Even children at school don't need to know she's adopted if she doesn't want them to. I think in that way she feels good about being able to wipe the slate clean and start a new life.
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