Day 55 – Tuesday, June 5th – Things are looking up. The sun was out all day today and it has been beautiful here. I’m hoping for more days like today!
Today was one of the best days in Colombia so far. We went to my cousin’s house for lunch, and later, Dayana and I met up with my two other primas/cousins Maria Claudia and Maria Carolina at the Bogota Beer Company in Usaquen. We had Mojitos and some good, but VERY greasy empanadas. We had a blast. I am speaking Spanish almost all of the time and it’s so much fun to be able to understand everything and be able to respond and communicate effectively in a second language. (Although I still need to work on my verbs.) Tonight was the first time I have been out of the house (on purpose) after dark. It was a delight to do something different with my cousins, whom I adore!
Day 56 – Wednesday, June 6th – Another sunny day. Maria Claudia swung by to pick us up and we headed back to the Plaza de Andres for lunch. We ended up staying until the lunch rush was cleared out. After lunch & coffee we decided to walk around a mall because I have been thinking about buying an inexpensive camera here. My mom has her camera, but the battery doesn’t last long. (We just bought a battery a week and a half ago and it is already gone. Neither one of us has been taking many photos. There’s no way the battery we bought was new. I’m thinking it was used and sold as new. L whaa, whaa, whaaa!) We looked around, but I decided against it. I decided to buy a charger for my Samsung Galaxy Smartphone instead. I didn’t bring the charger to Colombia because I knew that the internet and email would not work here. I didn’t realize that I would need to use the camera on the phone. (Suggestion for anyone coming to Colombia: Android phones do not work in Colombia, but iPhones and iPads do.) I was thinking about buying an iPad before I left Minnesota and decided against it. Now that I’m here, I am kicking myself for not getting one. And they are way more expensive here, so that’s out of the question!!!
At 8pm, I finally got a call back from my contact. Unfortunately, it wasn’t “THE” call. She was getting back to me to tell me that the lawyer finally called her back and that our papers have been signed by the judge already, but now we have to wait to get a signature from another Defender of Minors. She said it could take a while, but of course, there is no timeline. “Be Patient”, she says (every time I talk to her). It could also take a while because the next two Mondays are holidays, so I’m heading into two short weeks. Let’s just hope that they sign soon. I’m more optimistic now that I know that our paperwork has passed the judge, but no one knows how long this segment of “The Process” might take.
I’m still having the same reoccurring dreams that are related to this process. Imagine the judge’s desk with hundreds of papers stacked on top of it. In one dream, my paperwork gets shuffled around and ends up falling underneath the judge’s desk. After months and months of me asking what’s the delay and not getting any response, a cleaner finally finds the paperwork covered with dust and it finally gets signed. In the other dream/nightmare, it’s the same judge’s desk full of papers. The judge works his way down the stack, but ours happens to be at the bottom of the pile. Instead of working through the entire pile, a new pile gets placed on top of our paperwork. And the judge never gets to ours. Frustrating! At least I know now that we are passed that point. So we continue to wait with more optimism.
I am so lucky that I have my family here so I can get to know them better while I am here and so they can get to know Sofia. She is loved by ALL! (Even the retro-dude working at the music store in the mall couldn’t stop saying how precious she is. It’s amazing how so many people stop to look and comment on how beautiful miss Sofia is. Next time I go to a mall, I should count how many comments we get.)
Day 57 – Thursday, June 7th – I am now in my 9th week in Colombia. Sofia is growing so fast. She is now sitting on her own, reaching for her toys while sitting (without tipping over), she found a pretty horrendous shriek and she laughs after she shrieks (she finds it funny, but mom – not so much!), and she is now eating solids. I tried to hold out on feeding her solids until we returned to the states so she wouldn’t have to get used to yet another change, but there’s no telling how long were going to be here, so I decided to start with cereal. So far, so good! (I forgot how cute it is to watch a baby eat solids for the first time. She had no idea what to do with her super long tongue. It was going wild while she was eating. Super cute and extremely funny!!!)
Today I am wiped out! I went to the store after Sofia’s 6:00am feeding to pick up more water, bread for breakfast, and juice. Later in the morning, my mom stayed with Sofia while I went for a quick walk to run a couple more errands. When I returned, my mom left to play cards and I hung out with Sofia for the rest of the day. She is so much fun. She loves to laugh. What a happy baby!!! Perry, Evan and I are so lucky to have her as part of our family. They are going to be amazed at how much she has changed in the 6+ weeks since we were last together. That’s a long time to be apart, but for Sofia… it’s worth it!!! We will be together soon.
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