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Part 2 of our story begins with pulling up to the foster family’s home. This is one of those things that I just had this ideal in my head of how it would go and when it didn’t look that way, I walked away a little disappointed. I thought it would be more of a big “to do”, had put all of these expectations into it, but it was really just a casual meeting with no pressure. We walked up the stairs and into the home and most of the family members were already seated on the floor. The introductions were kind of haphazard and we did our best to wai and greet each one present. We were told that we could have a seat on their couch which was very kind, but everyone else sat on the floor. It is their way of being gracious, but I felt like we were towering over them.
The social workers told us that we could ask questions if we had them and I, of course, had my list out and pen ready. I got to ask each question on the list, but I don’t know that I got good answers to any of my questions. Going through a translator is rough and trying to get through cultural differences is even rougher. They did tell us that every time they would go through the book of photos that we sent, Ty would kiss our pictures. That was really sweet.
It was good to sit and chat with them. It was just a really relaxed, casual afternoon. They are a happy family and a close community. Our son is well loved by them all and I can’t imagine what tomorrow is going to be like for them… having to say goodbye and not know if they will ever see him again. They communicated how they cared for him, what his schedule is like, that he loves music, and loves to dance. Their home was very comfortable and our hosts brought us out a tray with glasses and bottled water to drink. I had gone through this moment in my head for years, wondering what to do if they brought us something to eat that I was unfamiliar with. Didn’t even happen.
After all of our questions were answered, it was time for gifts and we passed out each one individually. The mom’s was the most special to me and one of the social workers took the time to put on her necklace for her. They were all very gracious in receiving their gifts and we had some extras as not all of the family members were there that we expected. We gave them a couple of bags of candy to share and Ty wai’d to us for that…. so stinking adorable. When we gave one of the young boys his gift, he knelt on the floor with his head to the floor to thank us. Just so very humbling that they hold us in such high esteem when we feel like it should have been us doing that to them.
Our time ended with photos… of just them… of us with them… of us with his foster mom… of our son with his foster mom and dad. As we said goodbye, I told Ty he was a handsome boy and they all laughed. They allowed us to take a few more photos of his home and then walked us to the van where he blew us kisses. 🙂 Such a good moment. As we were driving back into Bangkok, we paid a little more attention to our surroundings. The area around his home is beautiful! There are palm trees everywhere and as many rice fields as they have corn fields back home and we saw some men finishing their day in the fields as we left.
It was a really good time, being able to have these moments with his family. Hopefully we will be able to convey their incredible love for him as he grows up because of the time we were able to spend with them today. I thought we would have this big, emotional goodbye, but it was just smiles and waves as we drove down their lane.
