September 16, 2012

After the excitement of meeting Francis, sleep was elusive again the night of September 15.  I was up bright and early on the 16^th, ready to see my son again.  Gregg and I went to the hotel lobby for the breakfast buffet and found our agency liaison already there, finishing his breakfast.  Gregg opted to stay with the more Americanized cereal and eggs, while I opted to try the local dishes.  This was our introduction to the soup of the day and the dried fish of the day for breakfast.  This was also when I started to pile my plate each morning with mango and melons and enjoy juices unlike any other.

Shortly after breakfast, the van arrived to bring us back to RSCC.  We were more familiar with the ride this time, but still the time dragged.  When we arrived, Francis came out right away, and this time he knew just who he was looking for – “Daddy!”  (Big hug.)  I had to ask for a hug and was given one, very begrudgingly.

This particular day, were just in time for playtime in the playroom.  We were invited to go on in to play and meet Francis’ friends.  They all loved sunglasses.  Our sunglasses were passed from boy to boy, and whoever had them on would come over to make silly faces for us and pose for the camera.  One little boy brought me his blocks and looked to me for help stacking them.  He was so sweet.  We met the boys that Francis was in school with and found that one of them would be going home to a family in Australia soon.  When playtime was over, the children went to eat lunch.  At that time, we joined Francis in the dining room for another lunch beautifully prepared by Mama La.

After lunchtime, it was time for more playground fun and for Francis to experiment with the digital camera and video camera, which he loved.  He showed us his sense of daring and love of anything on wheels as he took off after a motorcycle that came onto the RSCC campus.

Playground fun on Day 2.  Is Francis wearing 2 different outfits?  Why, yes, he is.  Our "Little Radiator" needed at least 2 changes of clothes in 3 hours due to the extreme heat and humidity.  And he was used to it!

 Finally, it was time to say goodbye.  The next day he would be ours forever and the wait would be over.  We went back to the hotel, exhausted and hopeful.

We needed to pack up all of our gifts and donations for the next day when we got back to the hotel.  My parents had spent their time exploring the local mall and picking up drinks and snacks we would need for our time in Legazpi.

For dinner, we had the buffet at the Venezia.  Simple and good local food.  When we were done, we passed out (or tried to).  The next day was Entrustment Day.  WE had waited for so long – and apparently, so had Francis.

To Be Continued…