Leaving the orphanage

On Friday, January 29, Jairo left the orphanage to come live with us!

The orphanage has a great program for facilitating the bonding period between parents and their child, and they watch closely to see how the bonding is going. If all goes well, parents are able to take custody of their child within a week or so. Things were going well for us and Jairo, and the orphanage said he was ready to go with us. So Friday afternoon, after school and lunch, Jairo packed his things and left the orphanage to come with us to our new house.

We were prepared for this to be an emotional step for Jairo, as the orphanage is the only home he has ever known, and his tias and friends have been his family. But he is a very adventurous and confident boy, and so he was very excited for this next step in his life. He didn't miss a beat -- he happily packed all his clothes into a bag we brought, and his tias had prepared a bag with his books and a few sentimental items (including the books, video and photo album we had sent him).

It was really sweet to watch him pack and to see how excited he was to come with us. That being said, it was bittersweet, because we know that this is the closing of a very special and important chapter in his life. The orphanage staff have been so good to him -- raising him as if he were their own son -- and we can only imagine how hard it must be for his tias to have to let him go. And he is very close to three children in his house -- Jessica, Carlita and Fabian -- so it breaks our heart to know that they're losing someone who for all intents and purposes has been their brother. Given all of that, I was thankful that his leaving the orphanage was not a grand and drawn-out production -- it was swift and low-key, and I think everyone appreciated that.

The very good news is that when we left, we didn't go far -- in fact, we only went next door! The orphanage director, Melinda, offered for us to stay in a house that is on the orphanage property, so we happily accepted her offer. We felt it would make for a much easier transition for Jairo and his friends and tias, given that they can still see each other every day. And Jairo was particularly excited about this option, as this is the house where Suki lives -- Suki being the huge and loveable dog that the children adore. He was so excited to move to "la casa de Suki" that he ran all the way here (which was hilarious, because the bag he insisted on carrying was almost as big as he is, so it kept causing him to veer off the path and into the garden while he was running.)

So this is a really great thing, and we are so thankful for the gift of this house, and thankful that what could have been a very traumatic move was in fact quite simple and happy. We are looking forward to settling into a nice life here for the next couple months!