I'm going to try and wrap this thing up here folks...
We were in immigration in Miami..
So, we finally got through immigration and we sprinted towards the gate. We hadn't checked any baggage on the way home, so we just had two kids, two big bags and a camera bag. We tried to hurry, but Erickson was wanting to stop at every escalator. I don't blame him, they are cool. I wish I had two in my house. But, we needed to get on a plane, I didn't have time to introduce him to America yet.
We dashed to the gate and were relieved to find that our flight to Dallas was delayed. So, we gave each other a high 5 and John went to get some over-priced, bad food. We were sitting there awhile when we saw Tom. (He was on our flight from Port au Prince to Miami with his new daughter, Lise.) "Hey, what are yout doing here? We didn't realize we were on the same flight," we said to Tom.
"We you guys on the plane when we de-boarded?" Tom asked.
"What are you talking about?"
"We were on the plane and sat on the tarmac for about an hour, then they made us de-board. Evidentally Dallas had some snow and is not taking new arrivals. The flight was full."
John went up to the ticket counter. We deduced that we had actually missed the flight and when we didn't show up, they gave our seats away to stand-by people. So, now, we really didn't have tickets to Dallas. Tom went to the counter too, along with everyone else, to see about flight changes. (It's probably about 7 PM now.) So, I have 3 kids and all the luggage and John and Tom are in line. Then, we hear it announced that the flight has changed to a different gate. So, Tom and John practically run to the other gate. I get all three kids and the luggage and follow behind. I'm sitting on the floor with the kids for a good while (30-45 min.) when Erickson just takes off. He sprints away into the crowd. I practically throw Lovekender onto Lise and tell her "Rete ici" in Creole, "Stay here" and sprint after Erickson screaming, "ERICKSON" at the top of my lungs in the airport. I'm yelling to the crowd, "STOP HIM!" I finally catch him. I drag him,kicking and laughing, back to our spot on the floor. Luckily Lise and Love are still there. "KANPE!" STOP!! He thinks this is a funny game and keeps trying to run off.
I am reduced to holding him flailing. I'm sure this looks really great to all of the people shooting me sideways glances. I'm also feeling extra embarrassed when African-Americans look at me. I have know idea what they are really thinking, but I project that they are thinking something to the effect of, "Those poor black kids stuck with that pitiful excuse for a mother. She is so white and has no clue what she is doing." To add insult to injury, I'm wearing the remaining clothes that weren't shat upon. A thin, tight black t-shirt with white flowers on it with a teal spaghetti-strap knit sun dress on over it with coral colored socks with white poka-dots with Chaco sandals on. It's a great look, let me tell you. Meanwhile, Lovekender is just wearing a bathing suit. No socks, no shoes. It was all I had left clean. He did have some shirt on.
so, John finally comes back to us. He called American Airlines while in line and got us booked on a flight to Dallas. But, we don't know where Tom is. He is no where in sight. So, we take Lise, and Tom's luggage and go to our new gate. (We are on Gate number 3 now, I think.) Luckily, Tom is at that same gate waiting in line. Tom gets tickets too. They start boarding the flight. John is in line for boarding passes. They are about to close the flight. They say they can't get us on. I watch as the door to the plane closes. I really couldn't tell you what time it is at this point. (Let's say 8 or 9).
The poor Christmas Eve workers at the desk are trying to help the remaining people. What they really need is a stiff drink. The woman is trying to get us 4 tickets to Dallas that night. I mention that we really only need 3. She says, "How old is the youngest?" I say, "3, but he is 22 pounds and wearing 12 month clothing and I hold him the entire flight anyway. It is a wasted seat." She says, "I'll see what I can do." She gets us 4 tickets on the next flight out of Dallas. Unfortunately, the seats aren't together. She says they can probably change that when we get to the gate. We go sprinting off to another gate. (Did I mention that I am tired of sprinting while carrying a kid and luggage. And, that because John has to carry Erickson, I have to do the luggage. So, here I am in my ridiculous outfit with a tiny 3 year old strapped to me, a duffle bag over one shoulder and pulling a rolling carry on.) I wish I had it on video.
We get to the (fourth) gate and we start to board the flight. They are able to get our tickets 2 seats together and 2 seats. We board. John and Erickson are in row 7. Lovekender and I are in row 16. They tell us there will be a slight delay. That is when Love had his 1st bowel movement. The people in the seats infront of, next to , and behind me are covering their noses with the closest spare garmet they have. (I'm telling you it's foul folks.) It's embarrassing, but what the hell am I suppose to do? The sweet man behind me gets my bag from the overhead bin. I fish out a diaper and wipes one handed and head to the generously sized airplane bathroom. There, I change his blow out. I put him in some shorts that were dirty, but are now moved up to the "not so dirty" category. The man behind me puts my bag back up and we sit down. Love falls back asleep and I put him in the seat next to me with his head in my lap.
The flight attendants say we are ready for take off. The woman comes by and says that I need to be holding onto "my baby" as long as the plane is in motion. Meanwhile, I'm thinking, "This is the same 3 year olyd "baby" you all made me buy a seat for. Do I get my thousand dollars back?"
We start rolling out to the runway, then they announce that Dallas is still not taking new arrivals. We will now be enjoying a movie, "Up." My headphones don't work. I change another bowel movement. This time, I want to throw the soiled shorts away, but I'm afraid it will mess up the airplane trash system. So, I just stuff them in my bag that the nice man behind me keeps getting for me.
I ask the flight attendant, "If there is a seat by my husband, can I switch?"
"Sure," he says Gill. "Go right ahead." And then he heads on down the aisle. The words I should have chosen were, "Could you facilitate the single people around us moving seats so that we can sit together?" He must not be a dad.
The movie "UP" ended. We sat. Finally, we flew and 2 more diaper changes later, we somehow got to Dallas. We arrived at 2 AM
Dallas freezing!!!! Lovekender was half naked. I stopped and fished my jeans out of my bag and put them on under the dress. John's Dad had reserved us a hotel room, but it was far from the airport, "but he got a good deal." We stood out in the cold trying to find transportation to this hotel. There were no shuttles that went that far south of Dallas. I took the kids inside and John stood out there figuring out how the hell to get to this hotel. We ended up splitting a mini-van taxi with some other poor fools with hotels in no-man's land. We probably paid more for the transportation that the difference in a airport hotel price. But, alas, at least we had a place to stay. One thing I've learned from travel...anytime you think you are saving some money, you aren't really doing yourself any favors in the long run.
John and the boys passed out in the hotel. I HAD to take a shower. I didn't shower the entire time we were in Haiti. The Habitation Hatt shower wasn't doing it for me. I have to be REALLY dirty to take a cold shower. I'm too skinny, I never get warmed back up.
I finally went to bed at 3 AM.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Dec. 25th, 2009
Lovekender woke up at 5:30AM with another blow out. I just stuck him in the bathtub. His first warm bath ever!! I did video that. I woke John up at 6:15. We packed up, headed to the airport.
We were delayed again, and our seats were separate again, but no matter. It was our last flight! We finally boarded and flew from Dallas to Lexington. Erickson had a screaming fit for an hour of the flight. It was really bad. We were becoming more numb to these fits, but the looks on the faces of everyone around are pretty awful. I'm sure it also looks horrible. A big 6'2" white guy, physically restraining a 35 lb. black boy. If John let him go, he would just flail and hit and kick the seats in front of us. He had to hold him. My poor husband deserves a trophy the size of New Jersey!
FINALLY, FINALLY, FINALLY, we landed in Lexington. The best feeling ever. For the first time, I teared up. We really were home. We made it. We didn't die in a firey crash! Lovekender's tiny body was in my arms. I daydreamed about that moment everyday for 21 months. Every time I saw a plane, I would think, "Someday, that will be me landing with the boys." And here we were!!!! HOME! HOME! HOME!! Nou rete ici ensemble! "WE live here together, " I kept telling the boys. (They probably thought, "we now live on an airplane?!") Poor little dudes. I'd pay a lot of money to know what they were thinking.
We got off the plane and headed down the little escalator. Violet, Mom, Dad and Cy were waiting for us. Violet was jumping up and down and screaming. She immediately hugged and hugged and hugged Erickson. AHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhh......we are home! We are family!!! Now, the real work begins.
This is the official end of "my haiti boys" blog. They aren't my Haiti boys any more. They are my sons, and before I know it, they will be young men. I just hope I can do right by them. I'm going to try my best. I'll make mistakes (and I already have), but there is always a new day to try again. I can always do better.
You can continue to follow our journey...
www.Lovekender.blogpot.com
www.VioletEstelle.blogspot.com
www.EricksonPierre.blogspot.com
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Friday, January 1, 2010
the trip home... part deux.
Let's see, where was I. OK, yes, puke and poo.
So, Morning finally came and the owner of the hotel still never showed. John took Erickson to breakfast, while Lovekender and I curled up on the tablecloth on the edge of one of the nasty mattresses. When John got back, I went to go sit and have some coffee myself. I just ordered toast. There is something about the smell of human waste and burnin trash that really supresses one's appetite. I sat, sipping my coffee, nibbling my toast, thinking about work. I was so worried about missing my shift and about not being able to call. I was afraid I would lose my job. In the big picture, obviously my family is more important. But, now that I am the sole breadwinner for a household of 5, it is important to have a paycheck. Each dollar is accounted for. I'm one shift away from not having enough money to pay the mortgage and the second mortgage for the adoption. More importantly, I need the health insurance. These boys need medical attention. Perhaps surgery for Erickson, who appears to have an umbilical hernia and diastisis rectii. The night before, I had serisously contemplated flying home, as scheduled on the 23rd by myself so I could get to work by the 24th. However, considering the events of the previous 6 hours, I knew there was no way in hell John could manage these two kids on a plane by himself. So, I had to stay. And, how could I miss the boys' first flight home? Their first night in America?
I went back to the room and John and I got everything ready to go back to Marie's. We needed to get medicine for the boys and we were hoping to meet the boys' birthparents.
Gary picked us up and we headed to Marie's. On the way, Gary was going to stop and get an international phone card for John. Driving through the streets/creek beds of Haiti is so facinating. It's amazing to see the people, how they dress, carrying things on their heads, vendors on the street. There might be a man with a "tire store." He is sitting there with 6 tires and an umbrella. So, we pull over to one of these tattered umbrellas on the side of the "road." Gary talks to the vendor in Creole. The vendor man hands him these 3 little card board pieces. They look like the -save-ceareal-box-tops-for-education- thingies. Gary hands these to John and tells him that he just has to insert it into his phone and then he can call international. John tries to explain that there is no place in his phone to insert a small piece of cardboard. Jean Gary says that he will just put them in his cell phone and then we can use his to call international. John asks how many minutes we have. Gary says, "Probably about 11 or 12." John and I look at each other. We now have 11 or 12 minutes to call American Airlines and change 4 flights from tonight at 5:30 to tomorrow. We need to call my work and we need to call my parents and let them know what is going on and that they will have Violet another night.
So, we get to Marie's. I sit there with the boys while John tries to work Gary's phone. He finally gets through to American Airlines. I literally set my stopwatch. After nine minutes on hold, I cut John off. We need a new plan. Last resort: our cell phones. John calls his dad really quickly and tells him the situation. We need him to get on-line and give us several flight options. We will call back in about an hour. There is no telling how much that 4 minute conversation will cost!!! Roaming from Haiti. Not pretty.
I then take Gary's phone and call Central Baptist. I know my director is out of the office until the 29th, so I decide to just call HR directly. As the phone is ringing, there is a voice that says something in Creole, but all I catch is "deux minutes." I have 2 minutes!! HR answers the phone. I frantically try to explain to the receptionist, "I'm Kendra Adkisson, I am a nurse in Labor and Delievery, we are adopting 2 boys from Haiti and we are stuck down here because the embassy is closed and we can't get visas and I'm suppose to be at work tomorrow night at 7PM and this is a family emergency and I can't get there." The receptionist says, "Let me transfer you to someone who is in charge of that." (TRANSFER!!! I"ve got like 90 seconds dude!) So, I get transferred and I get voice mail for someone. I leave the above message as fast as I can on her answering machine and then add..."I have no internet and spotty cell phone reception so you have no way of calling me back. Please call my mother, Bonnie Adkisson, she might be able to explain more if we get a chance to talk to her. Her number is........." And with that, I hang up. I have absolutely no idea if the person I left a message with is working that day. I don't know if L&D will get the message. And again, I can't help but think I'm going to be fired.
I then call Mom. "Mom, I have about 2 minutes so just listen to me. The embassy is closed. We can't come home today. We are trying to book new flights. You'll have to watch Violet another night. Tell her we love her and Merry christmas. Human Resources might call you about where I am. Could you call a pedeatrician and try to get us appointments for next week? We'll let you know when we know when we are coming home. The boys are with us and it's great, but they are sick. Thank you and I love you, Bye." Mom mumbled something about Violet was fine and she loved us. Then we hung up. I think I went over the 2 minutes. I hope I didn't cost Gary about $80 on his phone bill.
The people at the orphanage said Marie would be back by about 10:00 AM. So, we just hung out on Marie's porch, playing with the boys. Marie came back. She gave me amoxicillin and Flagyl for the boys. However, none of it had been refrigerated and it was expired. It also seemed pretty watery. Definitely not the long term plan, but it would have to do for today. She also made Lovekender some ...well, ....gruel. It looked disgusting. Lovekender practically inhaled it. I asked Marie what it was. She said it was ground rice and flour. Note to self.
Marie said that the birthparents might not come after all because it was raining. But, to our surprise, they showed up later. We saw the mother walk through the orphanage gate with a sheet of plastic over her. The mom and dad walked on to the porch and sat with us. The dad immediately began talking and Marie was translating. She said, "He says he is so happy to meet you and that we are all family now." As she was translating, the dad had his arm around me and I was holding the mother's arm. We asked Marie to tell them that "We love Erickson and Lovekender and it is an honor that they trust us to raise their precious boys. We will do our best. We love them so much." I brought out my list of questions to ask the birthparents. I'll save this part of the story for Erickson and Lovekender. It is their story to tell, not mine.
It was a beautiful time with the parents on the porch that rainy day in Haiti. We have a lot of pictures and video. I'll be framing a large picture of all of us together. The boys will always know that their beautiful parents made the hardest choice parents can make. In America, we have the luxury of keeping our children. When people say, "I just can't imagine how those parents could do that!", I just think to myself..."of course you can't imagine it." I wish it were mandatory for every high school softmore to go to a third world country. It might put an end to the "me" generation. If you didn't have a job, no prospect of a job, no education, pitiful living conditions, no running water, no electricity, no access to medical care, no food to feed your child, you might send them to someone who could. If I were on a bus with Violet and it was about to crash and there were people standing on the side of the road with outstretched arms, I'd throw Violet out to whomever was there. That's all I need to say about that.
After visiting with the birth parents for over an hour, they left. I took a picture of them as they walked out the gate of the orphanage....my sons' mother coverd in plastic. I wonder if I'll ever see her again. I wonder how Erickson and Lovekender's younger brother Jameson's life will be there in Haiti.
Meanwhile, John had called his dad and we had tickets to leave Haiti on the 24th at 1:10 PM. It cost $400 to change all of our tickets, plus we had to get a hotel room for Dallas the night of the 24th. There were no flights to go straight through on the same day.
We left Marie's and headed back to the Habitation Hatt. John took a little snooze and I tried to entertain the boys by the pool. It was actually too chilly to get in (overcast and drizziling). I think I just ate a protein bar and then we went to sleep early. I still didn't feel dirty enough to take a shower in Haiti. (Yes, our room had been mopped and we had new linens.) That night we didn't have copious amounts of bodily fluids.
DECEMBER 24th, 2009
We packed up all our things. We left behind several pooped on outfits. I didn't want to throw them away because they just needed to be washed. So, I just sat them beside the trash can. I have no doubt that they were found and used by someone.
Gary picked us up and we headed to Marie's again. We picked up Megan who was there to adopt Lovely. We said good-bye to Marie and headed to the Embassy for our 9:00 AM appointment. We waited for only about a half an hour and we got the boys' passports with VISAS!!!! However, we immediately noticed that their last names were Ferguson.
Insert side note: John and I have different last names. I already had a name when I got married and I'm not John's property, so as any self-respecting feminist does, I kept MY name. It's hard to say and spell, but alas, it is mine. (Actually it is my father's, but what to do?) I'm always suprised at how confusing me having my own name is to people. From block buster, to the DMV, people seemed baffled.
At any rate, I filled out all of the adoption paperwork. I put myself as the "petitioner" and John as the spouce. So, when we went to Haiti last year, the embassy had listed the boys' names as Erickson Adkisson and Lovekender Adkisson. We laughed about it at the time. The problem is, we made the boys' plane reservations with the name Adkisson. We immediately had to call John's Dad (on John's cell, yikes!) and ask him to call back American Airlines and change the tickets to the last name of Ferguson. Long story short, (too late) it was $600 just to change the NAMES, not the flights!!! John's Dad, after many threats, got AA to change the fee to only $300.00.
We left the embassy and headed to the airport. Erickson immediately had a breakdown. John had to practically drag Erickson through. I had Lovekender in my Ergo baby carrier and all the luggage, while John dealt with Erickson. All the Haitians were trying to talk to him and tell him what was going on, but it was no use. Finally, when we got to an escalator and Erickson was so mezmorized, that we didn't hear another peep...until we boarded the plane. Erickson did his best rendition of a complete and total meltdown on the plane from Haiti to Miami. He was thrashing and kicking, so John had to physically restrain him. (That looks REALLY good to a plane full of Haitians, I'm sure!) Erickson finally screamed himself into a deep sleep. He missed the entire flying experience.
When we landed in Miami, we had to go through customs and immigration. We were "held" back in this special room. We watched the minutes tick by and new we would miss our connecting flight to Dallas. I was also sweating bullets to call work before 5PM. But, there were big signs posted everywhere, "ABSOLUTELY NO CELL PHONE USE." The homeland security people look like a serious bunch. I didn't want to push it. So, I obeyed.
More tales from immigration another day....We will continue with the airport and that will be my last post for this blog!
So, Morning finally came and the owner of the hotel still never showed. John took Erickson to breakfast, while Lovekender and I curled up on the tablecloth on the edge of one of the nasty mattresses. When John got back, I went to go sit and have some coffee myself. I just ordered toast. There is something about the smell of human waste and burnin trash that really supresses one's appetite. I sat, sipping my coffee, nibbling my toast, thinking about work. I was so worried about missing my shift and about not being able to call. I was afraid I would lose my job. In the big picture, obviously my family is more important. But, now that I am the sole breadwinner for a household of 5, it is important to have a paycheck. Each dollar is accounted for. I'm one shift away from not having enough money to pay the mortgage and the second mortgage for the adoption. More importantly, I need the health insurance. These boys need medical attention. Perhaps surgery for Erickson, who appears to have an umbilical hernia and diastisis rectii. The night before, I had serisously contemplated flying home, as scheduled on the 23rd by myself so I could get to work by the 24th. However, considering the events of the previous 6 hours, I knew there was no way in hell John could manage these two kids on a plane by himself. So, I had to stay. And, how could I miss the boys' first flight home? Their first night in America?
I went back to the room and John and I got everything ready to go back to Marie's. We needed to get medicine for the boys and we were hoping to meet the boys' birthparents.
Gary picked us up and we headed to Marie's. On the way, Gary was going to stop and get an international phone card for John. Driving through the streets/creek beds of Haiti is so facinating. It's amazing to see the people, how they dress, carrying things on their heads, vendors on the street. There might be a man with a "tire store." He is sitting there with 6 tires and an umbrella. So, we pull over to one of these tattered umbrellas on the side of the "road." Gary talks to the vendor in Creole. The vendor man hands him these 3 little card board pieces. They look like the -save-ceareal-box-tops-for-education- thingies. Gary hands these to John and tells him that he just has to insert it into his phone and then he can call international. John tries to explain that there is no place in his phone to insert a small piece of cardboard. Jean Gary says that he will just put them in his cell phone and then we can use his to call international. John asks how many minutes we have. Gary says, "Probably about 11 or 12." John and I look at each other. We now have 11 or 12 minutes to call American Airlines and change 4 flights from tonight at 5:30 to tomorrow. We need to call my work and we need to call my parents and let them know what is going on and that they will have Violet another night.
So, we get to Marie's. I sit there with the boys while John tries to work Gary's phone. He finally gets through to American Airlines. I literally set my stopwatch. After nine minutes on hold, I cut John off. We need a new plan. Last resort: our cell phones. John calls his dad really quickly and tells him the situation. We need him to get on-line and give us several flight options. We will call back in about an hour. There is no telling how much that 4 minute conversation will cost!!! Roaming from Haiti. Not pretty.
I then take Gary's phone and call Central Baptist. I know my director is out of the office until the 29th, so I decide to just call HR directly. As the phone is ringing, there is a voice that says something in Creole, but all I catch is "deux minutes." I have 2 minutes!! HR answers the phone. I frantically try to explain to the receptionist, "I'm Kendra Adkisson, I am a nurse in Labor and Delievery, we are adopting 2 boys from Haiti and we are stuck down here because the embassy is closed and we can't get visas and I'm suppose to be at work tomorrow night at 7PM and this is a family emergency and I can't get there." The receptionist says, "Let me transfer you to someone who is in charge of that." (TRANSFER!!! I"ve got like 90 seconds dude!) So, I get transferred and I get voice mail for someone. I leave the above message as fast as I can on her answering machine and then add..."I have no internet and spotty cell phone reception so you have no way of calling me back. Please call my mother, Bonnie Adkisson, she might be able to explain more if we get a chance to talk to her. Her number is........." And with that, I hang up. I have absolutely no idea if the person I left a message with is working that day. I don't know if L&D will get the message. And again, I can't help but think I'm going to be fired.
I then call Mom. "Mom, I have about 2 minutes so just listen to me. The embassy is closed. We can't come home today. We are trying to book new flights. You'll have to watch Violet another night. Tell her we love her and Merry christmas. Human Resources might call you about where I am. Could you call a pedeatrician and try to get us appointments for next week? We'll let you know when we know when we are coming home. The boys are with us and it's great, but they are sick. Thank you and I love you, Bye." Mom mumbled something about Violet was fine and she loved us. Then we hung up. I think I went over the 2 minutes. I hope I didn't cost Gary about $80 on his phone bill.
The people at the orphanage said Marie would be back by about 10:00 AM. So, we just hung out on Marie's porch, playing with the boys. Marie came back. She gave me amoxicillin and Flagyl for the boys. However, none of it had been refrigerated and it was expired. It also seemed pretty watery. Definitely not the long term plan, but it would have to do for today. She also made Lovekender some ...well, ....gruel. It looked disgusting. Lovekender practically inhaled it. I asked Marie what it was. She said it was ground rice and flour. Note to self.
Marie said that the birthparents might not come after all because it was raining. But, to our surprise, they showed up later. We saw the mother walk through the orphanage gate with a sheet of plastic over her. The mom and dad walked on to the porch and sat with us. The dad immediately began talking and Marie was translating. She said, "He says he is so happy to meet you and that we are all family now." As she was translating, the dad had his arm around me and I was holding the mother's arm. We asked Marie to tell them that "We love Erickson and Lovekender and it is an honor that they trust us to raise their precious boys. We will do our best. We love them so much." I brought out my list of questions to ask the birthparents. I'll save this part of the story for Erickson and Lovekender. It is their story to tell, not mine.
It was a beautiful time with the parents on the porch that rainy day in Haiti. We have a lot of pictures and video. I'll be framing a large picture of all of us together. The boys will always know that their beautiful parents made the hardest choice parents can make. In America, we have the luxury of keeping our children. When people say, "I just can't imagine how those parents could do that!", I just think to myself..."of course you can't imagine it." I wish it were mandatory for every high school softmore to go to a third world country. It might put an end to the "me" generation. If you didn't have a job, no prospect of a job, no education, pitiful living conditions, no running water, no electricity, no access to medical care, no food to feed your child, you might send them to someone who could. If I were on a bus with Violet and it was about to crash and there were people standing on the side of the road with outstretched arms, I'd throw Violet out to whomever was there. That's all I need to say about that.
After visiting with the birth parents for over an hour, they left. I took a picture of them as they walked out the gate of the orphanage....my sons' mother coverd in plastic. I wonder if I'll ever see her again. I wonder how Erickson and Lovekender's younger brother Jameson's life will be there in Haiti.
Meanwhile, John had called his dad and we had tickets to leave Haiti on the 24th at 1:10 PM. It cost $400 to change all of our tickets, plus we had to get a hotel room for Dallas the night of the 24th. There were no flights to go straight through on the same day.
We left Marie's and headed back to the Habitation Hatt. John took a little snooze and I tried to entertain the boys by the pool. It was actually too chilly to get in (overcast and drizziling). I think I just ate a protein bar and then we went to sleep early. I still didn't feel dirty enough to take a shower in Haiti. (Yes, our room had been mopped and we had new linens.) That night we didn't have copious amounts of bodily fluids.
DECEMBER 24th, 2009
We packed up all our things. We left behind several pooped on outfits. I didn't want to throw them away because they just needed to be washed. So, I just sat them beside the trash can. I have no doubt that they were found and used by someone.
Gary picked us up and we headed to Marie's again. We picked up Megan who was there to adopt Lovely. We said good-bye to Marie and headed to the Embassy for our 9:00 AM appointment. We waited for only about a half an hour and we got the boys' passports with VISAS!!!! However, we immediately noticed that their last names were Ferguson.
Insert side note: John and I have different last names. I already had a name when I got married and I'm not John's property, so as any self-respecting feminist does, I kept MY name. It's hard to say and spell, but alas, it is mine. (Actually it is my father's, but what to do?) I'm always suprised at how confusing me having my own name is to people. From block buster, to the DMV, people seemed baffled.
At any rate, I filled out all of the adoption paperwork. I put myself as the "petitioner" and John as the spouce. So, when we went to Haiti last year, the embassy had listed the boys' names as Erickson Adkisson and Lovekender Adkisson. We laughed about it at the time. The problem is, we made the boys' plane reservations with the name Adkisson. We immediately had to call John's Dad (on John's cell, yikes!) and ask him to call back American Airlines and change the tickets to the last name of Ferguson. Long story short, (too late) it was $600 just to change the NAMES, not the flights!!! John's Dad, after many threats, got AA to change the fee to only $300.00.
We left the embassy and headed to the airport. Erickson immediately had a breakdown. John had to practically drag Erickson through. I had Lovekender in my Ergo baby carrier and all the luggage, while John dealt with Erickson. All the Haitians were trying to talk to him and tell him what was going on, but it was no use. Finally, when we got to an escalator and Erickson was so mezmorized, that we didn't hear another peep...until we boarded the plane. Erickson did his best rendition of a complete and total meltdown on the plane from Haiti to Miami. He was thrashing and kicking, so John had to physically restrain him. (That looks REALLY good to a plane full of Haitians, I'm sure!) Erickson finally screamed himself into a deep sleep. He missed the entire flying experience.
When we landed in Miami, we had to go through customs and immigration. We were "held" back in this special room. We watched the minutes tick by and new we would miss our connecting flight to Dallas. I was also sweating bullets to call work before 5PM. But, there were big signs posted everywhere, "ABSOLUTELY NO CELL PHONE USE." The homeland security people look like a serious bunch. I didn't want to push it. So, I obeyed.
More tales from immigration another day....We will continue with the airport and that will be my last post for this blog!
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