We spent the next two days in the comfort of Rose and Tony’s
home and spent quality time together. We watched a Philippine folk dancing of their
son Tony and the Caesar Chaves High School band DVD of their daughter
Priscilla.
While there, we met their Pastor friend and wife. Married
for 25 years and unable to conceive children, they applied to be Foster
Parents. When they came for a visit they brought three girls (all sisters) whom
they agreed to foster. The eldest was 12, the middle was 3 and the youngest was
10 months. All these pretty girls had problems due to a mother who smoked crack
during her pregnancies and Child Welfare removed them from their mom’s home. The
Pastor and his wife had prayed for children to care for and in one instant they
had a full spectrum family. (Be careful for what you wish for….your wish just
may be granted). Anyways, Janet who was twelve sat beside me for diner and we
talked in English as Nori and Rose talked Tagalog to the Pastor and his wife. I
did very well in age 12 lingo…I’m so proud of myself. After dinner Janet asked
if she could call me grandfather…..wow….my heart stopped (my eyes are welling
up as I write this now) and I said of course you can sweetie. Sometimes we just
take things for granted! I am now a proud adopted grandfather and just when I
thought it was impossible to be a grandfather again. I happily wear the badge.
On Thursday the 22nd
Nori and I went to visit
our good friends Balaji and Tamara and their son Praveen and daughter-in-law
Deepa and their baby in the Bay Area of San Francisco. Our GPS, for the 3rd
time had us drive in circles to find the address and we had to call for
directions even though we were very close.
Tamara served delicious Indian cuisine and Balaji made super flavorful
homemade teas and coffee during our visit.
Believe it or not, the baby girl warmed up to me quicker than Nori so I
guess that I’m still a ladies’ man. The baby had a running nose and Grandmother
Tamara got ill and needed some bed rest. We spent quality time with everyone
and Nori made a Filipino dish the night before we left. Praveen showed me an
easy web site to get started with a travel blog which you are enjoying. We were
honored to get to see an old video of Tamara when she was a wonderful dance performer
of various styles from India. Beautiful! Beautiful! It’s nice that they have
this to pass on to the next generation of family members. We are so grateful to
get to know Balaji and Tamara’s family and plan a future meeting when our paths
shall cross again.
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