Tuesday, Oct 13th Update

PART II

As I made my way up to the front door, I felt like I was stepping back in time. I remembered every detail of my old home. It felt so surreal to be standing at my front door again. Mihaela greeted us at the door and welcomed us in. As I stepped in to the hallway of my old home, I could vividly see myself there as a little girl. We walked into their room. Because it was late at night, Nicu and the children were sleeping. They were alarmed by our arrival. We were not able to call Nicu and tell him that we were coming. Gabriela and Andrei woke up but Cristian, the youngest, stayed asleep the whole time. I think they were all shocked to see me and it must have seemed like a dream because no one did anything for awhile. Nicu stared at me as if he was looking at a dream. When he realized it was really me, he grabbed me, hugged me hard and started crying. My heart broke into a million pieces and I felt like the little sister he lost so long ago. I was crying and holding on tight. I never realized how much I had missed my brother until I was hugging him for the first time in over 18 years. We held each other and cried for a long time. There was not a dry eye in the room. I never thought that I would see my brothers again. When I was adopted, they were not at home and so we were never able to say goodbye. Nicu kept holding my face in his hands and crying. It is hard to fully describe how I was feeling at that moment. My brothers have not had an easy life. Nicu has not had an easy life. It has put years on his face. How I wished at that moment that I could erase all the sadness and pain away from his life. I wanted to make everything better and perfect for him. To see the difficult life he has had shook me to my very core. That could have been me. But by the grace of God, I was given a new life. Here I was kneeling on the hard concrete floor of my old house, holding my brother and crying. And I knew that I was meant to return home again. To see my brother in such despair and sadness broke me. He is my family, my flesh, my blood. I wanted to tell him that I was home and that things would be better. That there was hope because so many people cared about him and wanted to help. I wanted to tell him how much I had missed him and how my heart was hurting to see the hardships that they bare. I felt whole and broken at the same time. I felt whole because I was home again. I had taken this journey and returned to my home country. But I felt so broken kneeling on the floor crying. As we looked at each other we both knew that there was so much to tell and not enough words to describe it all. But as I looked in my brother’s eyes, I could see that he knew I loved him and I knew that he loved me. And that was enough.

We brought 3 large duffle bags of donations for Nicu and his family. I didn’t realize we had so many donations for Nicu but I was glad that we did. Albina, Ion, Vica and Razvan all came with us along with my cousin Larisa who translated for us. Nicu and his family occupy 1 room in the house. The room is about 10x10 and this is where they live, sleep, eat, cook, etc. There is no indoor plumbing but they do have electricity. They live in one room because this is the only room that has a small stove as a heating agent. The other small room does not have a stove and so it serves as a storage room for their few belongings. They have 2 very small beds that they sleep and sit on. The room has a very small side table that they cook on. They do not have a stove. They cook on a small 2 burner camping stove. They were in the middle of painting the room for my arrival and they were not finished. I think they were a bit embarrassed by that. It was a sweet gesture and I appreciated it. I was so happy to be able to bring so much to them. Gabriela (6), my little niece was so happy to see me. She kept hugging and kissing me. Andrei (4), my nephew kept looking at me and smiling. He’s a little more shy. I was sitting next to Nicu on the ground as I started opening the duffle bags. The kids started talking and squealing non-stop. They were so excited for everything. One of the first items we gave them was 2 really large down blankets. These were donated to us by The Breast Cancer Society. I remember the winters being so bitter cold and we had little heating in the house. You don’t understand how cold the winters can get when you have no blankets and your only source of warmth is your tiny little stove that you hope you have enough wood for. I wanted to bring warm blankets and winter necessities for them since the colder weather was fast approaching. The blankets were very thick and will keep them very warm when it starts to snow. Nicu and Mihaela were crying. I kept pulling more items out of the duffle bags. You should have seen the looks and expressions on Gabriela and Andrei. They have never had presents before. They were so happy and excited with all of the presents. I gave them their winter boots first. They screamed. Gabriela put her boots on and Andrei wanted me to help him put his on. They were so excited. I wanted to make sure that the kids had very warm shoes and boots. We also brought tons of warm winter clothes for the kids. Each of the kids also received warm winter coats. They had everything from socks, to coats to beanies and clothes. These children have never had presents before. No Christmas and no birthdays. I lived the same type of life. My first presents were when I came to America. I remember that feeling so well. To have something given to you as a gift is magical to a child and the children were feeling it. They kept hugging me. I showed them their toys and they were almost hysterical by then. They wanted to try everything on. A friend’s little girl had given her favorite baby doll to us to take to Romania. I gave that to Gabriela and she was so excited. I am sure she has never had a doll before. I gave her some play makeup, lipstick and nail polish. She opened them right away and put her makeup on and also did her nails. She was loving it. I showed her the hair flowers and she said she wanted to put every single flower on her head. She got about as many flowers in her hair as she could fit. We gave them all colored pencils and markers. They went crazy for the markers. It is amazing how such a simple item like markers can bring such joy. We had shoes, socks and clothes including coats and sweaters for Nicu and Mihaela. I had items for my other brother, Florin but he was not there. He has been gone for over a year in a town very far away. Nicu has not been able to contact him but Florin sent him some money awhile back. I was sad that he was not there. I hope that when I return I will be able to see him. The whole time I was taking stuff out of the bags, Nicu would put his face in his hands and start crying. It was hard to not cry as well. I can’t tell you how happy I was to be able to bring such desperately needed necessities to them. We gave them medication as well including chewable Tylenol for the kids. They don’t purchase medications like that. It’s a luxury not a necessity. We also gave them hygiene items as well as some treats for the kids. We gave them peanut butter too. They don’t have peanut butter in Romania. I was so glad that through the generosity and kindness of so many people, we were able to bring such wonderful and needed items to them. I could not have done that on my own. I am so thankful for all the donations that we received. It will make their lives easier.