Me neither. I don't recall seeing an "additional chapter" yesterday?
I know. I know! DISboards was seriously dragging last night. I don't know if it was traffic or what, but I was getting kinda cranky around 10 so I gave up trying to post. Patience is NOT my virtue.
I just wrote this HUMONGOUS chapter and it went poof!!!! 
Ima gonna go for a walk now... just, well, because.
(and Sophia is sleeping right now, so sooner better than later would be nice. 
)
I decided to look up some names on Facebook. Sure enough, I found her. I knew it was her because her picture was a dead wringer for our son. I swear, the two could be twins. Cue twilight music
I wanted to friend her so badly but decided not to because I was sure she was going to wonder who this crazy lady was wanting access to her page! Hee! 
The anticipation
gah! We were on pins and needles all day waiting for the phone to ring. Then, it happened. I saw the caller id and started squealing like a three year old pointing to the phone. Never occurred to me to answer it. heh 
Hubby grabs the phone and says hello. She said that she was driving to a family celebration when she got the call but didnt answer it because she was afraid to show up a blubbering mess. That must have been so hard not to answer the phone. Not what I would have done
I wear my heart on my sleeve and proudly. 
Crazy. This all happened in the month of September. We told her that we would drive there for vacation the next summer and have a family reunion in celebration of their moms birthday. We had no choice - vacation days were all used up. 
Well, that was NOT an option for her. She could not wait that long to see him and said she was booking a flight for the next month. OMG.
Yeah, well try multiplying that by infinity when youre waiting for a loved one that you havent seen in over 43 years! They announced the arrival of her flight, the people start filing through. We had no idea what she looked like. All of a sudden, this woman, by herself, hesitantly scanning the room, comes around the corner. She didnt see us. hehe I knew it was her because she looked just like my husband. He was just standing there, I dont think it sunk in to him that it was her. Duh!! I shoved him towards her. BIG HUGGGGG and the tears were flyin. I was a mess. They didnt move for at least 10 minutes. Just wow. I was so thrilled for my hubby. No one deserved this more than him. What a fabulous time the next four days would be. That night, we stayed up all night talking and laughing. Oh boy, did we laugh. Ever laugh so much that you wet your pants? Ya, we did that. She had all the dirt on the crazy people!! 
The stories she told us were funny, yet heart breaking, and then some of them were down right hilarious - depending on who she was talking about. 
In hindsight, Im glad my sweet husband was removed from that environment and placed in the very strict home that he was. They may have been hard on him and all that, but they instilled strong values and morals and made him into the wonderful, caring, and loving man that he is today. He has no regrets, no grudges
just this never ending abundance of love
On my way out the door. I will write it when I get back. Promise!
I
Christine... you'll have to give me some input on hotels.
Ya, were sneaky. Muahahaha. The flights were booked and they were coming in February. Now all I had to do was wait. And wait. I was so excited, I couldnt stand it. SIL kept asking me if it was too much for my hubby to take in and I said no way! This is his mom, dudette. He wants to see his mom! He would be absolutely over the moon. This was going to be the best surprise ever. Well, the surprise was short lived. SIL didnt believe me when I told her that DH could handle the shock, so she went and TOLD HIM what we had planned! 
Grrr. I was SO mad. Ah well, no sense crying over spilled milk, right? It was the most amazing moment that I had witnessed, ever. My heart was just bursting with love. Shes just a tiny little thing. Not what we drew in our minds at all. She took his face into her hands and traced his jawline. She stared into his big blue eyes. She asked him to turn around and scanned him up and down. They she blurts out, where did you get your height? LOL! He is the tallest one in his entire family. I asked hubby, so do you know who you look like now? He says, yup, my mom! The resemblance is incredible. And off we go for a glorious four days. He turned out okay. He thanked his mom for letting him have the opportunity at a better life. To this day, she still feels the guilt. I wish she wouldnt. Breaks my heart. The weekend went by so fast. Catching up on 43 years is exhausting! But, oh so worth it. 
SIL got home and called me. We decided to fly his mommy here as a surprise for hubby!
The day is finally here. We are anxiously waiting for them to walk the dreaded walk from the plane. Im holding roses that are shaking all over the place I am so nervous and excited. Hubby kept asking me if he looked okay. Awww. Then, there they were. OMG. No doubt who his mama was , nope. None. All these years of wondering who he looked like, the hair coulour, eyes, mannerisms. There he was right there in his mother. Incredible. I started bawling, SIL started bawling, and hubby took his mother into his arms and just sobbed.
We went out for some lunch and his mom just stared at him the entire time. I thought it was so cute. She apologized for staring, but he told her to stare away. As soon as we got home, we all changed into our jammies and got settled for the evening. This was definitely going to be an all nighter! We talked our faces off, looked at pictures and played cards. We love playing canasta. The entire weekend was spent in our jammies, talking and laughing and playing cards. It was so much fun. I havent laughed like that in a long time. My sides hurt from laughing so hard. Once in a while his mom would get all sad and start beating herself up about the past. She felt so much guilt and pain. So many what ifs... Hubby told her not to feel that way. She did what she had to do and she did it out of love. He got that.
It was time to leave. Ugh. It was the worst feeling driving them back to the airport. We were so sad. It was storming out and when we got to the airport, their flight was canceled. Woo hoo! One more night! We were all so excited. We came back to the house, and yup, got in our jammies and played cards! LOL The real departure was gut wrenching. Lots of tears. Hubby didnt want to let go of his mom. But, we knew we would be seeing them in four months ... at the reunion...
