Thursday was such a difficult day. Lucy and Laura were clueless as to how close the departure really was, but Mark and I were pretty emotional. Fortunately we didn't have to be at the airport until 5:30 Thursday evening, so we had all day to soak up every last minute. Laura helped me pack her suitcase and I let her pick out all of her favorite clothes/shoes/toys to bring back with her. We couldn't fit everything because she really racked up while she was here! I do have all of the things she left behind still, and I'm hoping to give them to her one day when she comes back for good.
Laura talked about her sister a lot in the last few days, I know she missed her a lot. The chaperone talked to Laura on Tuesday to let her know she would be leaving soon, so she knew she was going to see her sister and I think that helped her cope.
Hanging out in the airport
Carry on child, anyone?
Waiting on all the kiddos to arrive to be checked in
Last few moments before the kids had to head to security, where we said our goodbyes
The whole group (there were 3 chaperones and probably over 20 kids....I didn't count) headed to security, as we all watched and waved one last time. Laura turned around to wave to us several times. She actually did really well saying good bye and wasn't emotional at all. She's not a very emotional or expressive person though.
Lucy has been asking about her and asking when she is coming back to sleep in her bed (we still have Laura's bed in Lucy's room). It's so hard to explain to her....
We have hope for Laura's future. We know that we will be involved in her life (and Inese's) one way or another....whether we adopt them, someone else adopts them, or whether they never come back permanently. We are invested in her, and I hope we impacted her as greatly as she has impacted us.
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