Despite all of the new friends we are making (even the human ones), our old friends are what really make this city home. We are eternally indebted to them for welcoming us into this crazy chapter and making themselves available to us while we scamper about, trying to set things up.
Vio’s brother, Dan, has likely been our fiercest advocate over the past few months when it comes to our new apartment and finances. He has done most—if not all—of the research that we saw before we arrived, has been available for even the simplest questions with the most complex answers, has driven us back and forth across town to get papers signed and accounts settled.
Carmen, on the other hand has been our support in our journey to adopt. She has not only done the research regarding both forms of adoption, but has enlisted the ladies in the maternity ward at her hospital (willingly) to keep her informed of any newborns who need a family.
Eli and Tia, our protégés of sorts, have gone through apartment hunting and decorating themselves recently, and thanks to Eli’s business savvy, and Tia’s aesthetic sense, they have compiled a priceless list of local artisans who can create or source anything we can think of for our apartment. They’ve also been overly gracious in their availability to chauffeur us around to meet our goals.
Vio’s parents have always been there for us as well. Since the beginning, they have supported us with whatever they can give, and it’s been quite a lot over the years. They arrived at our new—and very empty—apartment two days ago with all of the tools and food to feed us and make us feel at home for our remaining week.
There are many more, and if I were to express all of our thanks to all of them using just my thumbs to type, they would fall off. They know who they are, and they should know that it’s them that makes this Home for us.