Okay, We’re Ready, NOW!!!
January 2005 found us happy and ready to be parents! We jumped everytime the phone would ring. We had our list of questions to ask about a child they wanted to place with us. We had a crib up with cute sheets and comforter. We had little stuffed animals ready for our new daughter. All we needed was the new daughter!
January turned into February, March, okay, I am the least patient person in the world, April, May, June, you get the picture. We were going to the mainland in June to visit family so, that took the wait off of our minds! We just couldn’t believe that they hadn’t called us yet. So, we went off to the mainland and had a great vacation with both of our families. Our niece had talked us into letting her go back home for the summer by herself. She was going to live with her older sister during that time. She promised us she would come back at the end of July and finish her high school education.
Well, of course she got back to her family’s home and wanted to stay! It was her family after all. Her brother, sister, and all her cousins were there. Not to mention her mom showing up once in awhile! There was also the fact that no one would tell her how to act! She could pretty much do what ever she wanted to. At our house there were rules that she had to live by, and didn’t want to. Like, no smoking (anything), no drinking, etc. There was nothing we could do about it. We felt it was a mistake but, she was 17 and just didn’t want to be so far away from her family. Although she did come back, it was in protest. She just made sure she acted up so much that we had to let her go back! She would have found a way and I didn’t want her finding a bad way back home. So, at the beginning of September, 2005, she went back to her home.
I waited about 2 weeks, it took me that long to clean that girl’s room out, boy what a pig! I called my licensing caseworker and told her that there were no longer any kids living in the house, and that we could take a child of any sex. I also asked if we could have our license changed to take in 2 children. She said yes, that would be no problem.
That done, we next had to concentrate on my husband’s cousin’s wife coming to town. When you live in Hawaii you are in charge of being the tour guide for all family coming over here! Oh, and some friends as well. Debbie was coming in from Arkansas with a co-worker. We picked them up at the airport on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2005 and took them in Waikiki to their hotel. We told them we would pick them up the next morning for a tour of the island of Oahu. We told them it would take all day.
We also had my sister Paula, and her husband Scott over here. They were actually here for 6 months! Back to the cousin though. We got up on Friday, Sept. 16, 2005 and headed out to pick up Debbie and her friend and show them the island. We actually live almost in Waikiki so it was minutes to pick them up. We headed out and were driving around Diamond Head showing them the beautiful ocean view from there when the cell phone rang.
This was like 9:00 in the morning. It was Mike’s cell phone so I assumed it was just work calling. He had taken a vacation day off work to do the tour. Well, it wasn’t work! I hear Mike tell the caller, “yes, of course we will take him. Can you talk to my wife, I am driving.” He hands me the phone and let me tell you my heart was pounding so bad I could hardly stand it. Our licensing caseworker told me she wanted to place a 15 month old Japanese boy with us. He had been in emergency foster care for the past month. He was abused by his birth mother, and was drug exposed. We had to take him now though. Otherwise they would call the next person on the list!
I asked if we had time to go and buy him a car seat and some diapers! She said yes and that the assistant would meet us in our parking lot to give us the baby! So, with cousin and friend in the back seat, we made an illegal u-turn and headed for Wal-Mart! We raced over there and bought what we needed, then headed as fast as we could for our building’s parking lot.
We just managed to beat the social worker there. She pulled up in a big white van, got out, and started pulling all of his stuff from the back of the van. His birth family had sent clothes, toys, and a special blanket of his. I was upset because this woman just left the baby in the car. So, me being me, I marched over to the back seat, opened up the door, and proceeded to take him out of her van! He was asleep but woke up as I took him out of the seat. One thing I noticed right away, he looked like a Hawaiian child, not Japanese. We later found out he is Hawaiian, Filipino, Japanese, and Portugese. We were told his name was Avery Yukio. Okay, I just didn’t like his name the minute I heard it.
Anyway, he just put his little arms around my neck and held on as tight as he could. Well, all I can tell you is that it was love at first site! I held on to him as fiercely as he held me. I felt a total surge of anger at everyone who had hurt this child!
Even the caseworker for leaving him in the van! Every protective instinct in my body came out in one second! I was going to protect this little boy with my life!
So, what did we do after receiving our child? We loaded him up in the car and took our company on their tour of the island! He was a very quiet little fellow, and just looked around at everything! He didn’t utter any sounds whatsoever! He was an angel child on that ride! Looking back I think he was probably very confused and probably scared! His Auntie Debbie bought him a candy bar and proceeded to feed it to him. He had no clue what to make of that. I don’t think he had ever had one before! It wouldn’t have been my first choice of food but, what the heck!
Mike and I walked around the whole day like two idiots with smiles plastered all over our faces! We finished the tour and dropped the girls off at their hotel. We then headed home as fast as we could. I wanted to count all his toes and fingers, and begin my life as his mommy!