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The Bracelet

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photo[1]Six years ago, we adopted our Guatemalan daughter, Bunny.  In 2006, Guatemala was still open for international adoptions and the process was fairly short and easy.

We received the referral for Bunny when she was 1 ½ weeks old and a monthly update came like clockwork.  We were given permission to travel to Guatemala for our first trip when she was 3 ½ months old.

She was so tiny when we first saw her, she could fit into the palms of my husband’s hands.  She had a shock of black hair, with the largest, darkest eyes I have ever seen.  We spent a stressful and exciting weekend alone with Bunny getting to know her and practicing our parenting skills.  Colby had never been around a little baby before, so he got to learn how to hold her, feed her, and change his first diaper.

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It was an amazing weekend, but on Monday morning, our attorney returned to our hotel with Bunny’s foster mother.  It was time for us to return to the U.S. and finish our paperwork process.  The faster we returned home, the faster we could travel back to Guatemala and finalize her adoption.

During our trip to Guatemala, we loaded up on souvenirs to remember our trip.  When I had travelled to Russia to adopt Elle, I brought home a doll so she would always have a part of her heritage.  So on this trip to Guatemala, I wanted to find something similar for Bunny.  Luckily, I was able to find a Guatemalan doll and to this day, she sits proudly on Bunny’s shelves, representing Bunny’s birth country.

With Elle, the time between my two trips was only six days and I never really had a chance to miss her.  I was too busy getting ready to bring her home.  But with Bunny, I knew the wait was going to be longer and much harder.

On the morning we left Guatemala, I bought a bracelet in the hotel gift shop and put it on my wrist.  It was nothing special or expensive, but it represented what I was leaving behind.  Each time I looked down at the colored beads and silver charms, I remembered what I had waiting for me in Guatemala City.

I wore that bracelet every day until we flew back to Guatemala.  What should have only been a six-week wait turned out to be four months, due to a paperwork snafu in the US Embassy.  For four months, I looked at my bracelet and cried for Bunny.  The wait was horrendous.

But finally, the day dawned when we boarded another plane heading south.  On the day they placed Bunny in my arms for the final time, I took off the bracelet.  I didn’t need it anymore.  I had my daughter.

I never worn the bracelet again.  It safely sits in my jewelry box, waiting the day that I can give it to Bunny.

As a piece of her heritage.

As a representation of how long I waited for her…and how much I love her.

Photo Credit. LanitaM


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