We set off early and found our way there right on time for the 10 o'clock appointment. We were really surprised as the grounds have changed somewhat - they're building a huge new nurses home adjacent to the Children's Home which looks very modern and almost enough to make me want to work there, not really.
I'm not sure why but I always feel nervous coming back here. I guess because it was such an emotional time for us when we collected Nate from here. Tony and I can recall pretty much every minute of the days we spent there waiting to take our little man away from there. Don't get me wrong, he got great care there, it just wasn't his home. Home is where the heart is so his home was and always will be with us. Anyways I digress.
We had to wait a few minutes before we could go visit the littlies so we got to chat with one of the social workers for a bit. She was full of questions about Nate - is he healthy, what does he like to do etc etc. We asked tactfully how
The role of the TRCCH has changed a little since we were here last. They tend to take the kids from other orphanages who have medical problems and make them better before they go to their new families. Today, they have 55 kids here, some have been placed and are just waiting for health to improve and others still are waiting to see.
The place is exactly as I remembered, very clean and dare I say it sterile. We had a look in the babies room and then went up to the toddlers room - a large bare room with white walls and a very polished wooden floor. It was "quiet" there at the moment as the older kids were off at school. Our arrival was met with mixed responses from the kids, some appeared scared and others couldn't wait for their hugs. I noticed the reactions to Nate straight away - from the kids the looks on their faces were certainly confused. You could almost read their minds - why does he look like me because he doesn't sound like me at all. I think Poppa and Grandpa were the favorites as they were the first ones to score clingers. Nanny had bought along some pencils and colouring books so Nate got busy handing out pages and pencils. At first they had no idea what to do with them - was only a few seconds before many of them got tasted!.
We stayed for about half an hour just basking in the joy that comes from spending time with these little souls that you just know are somewhat starved for attention and affection. I owe this place such a debt that can never be re-payed, well maybe I can a little by raising our boy and guiding him through life in such a way that he will be grow into a man that can make a difference in this world. Today's visit was partly about remembering the past, but more importantly for Nate, he got to make new memories of being here with his Grandparents and Parents who love him so much. I know none of us will forget it.
Once we were done here it was time for Don and Anna to say farewell to Bangkok and make their way home. Their flight took off at 4.40 pm so we had to have them packaged up and delivered to Suvarnabhumi Airport asap. Although I think they had a great week, I'm pretty sure that the heat took it out of them somewhat. Regardless, if they got a better idea about Nate's heritage and a bit of an understanding of why we love Thailand so much then mission accomplished. Amazingly the airport was pretty quiet so their departure was swift and trouble free. The boys were both teary after they left and we all hoped they got a good flight home.
