Next Week: Off to Guat

Next Thursday, January 15, 2009, J and I leave for our trip to Guatemala. It is a trip that has been planned for a long time -- and planned in my head for even longer. Every parent who has a child born abroad knows that the day will come when that child will need to visit their birth country. While I was hoping that maybe J would be a little bit older before we went, now feels like the right time. So off we will go. Just the two of us.

On the one hand, it feels just like a regular vacation getaway. Jetting off to a warm place to escape the chill of central Ohio. Staying in a nice hotel. Shopping for tons of souvenirs. On the other hand, there is an underlying current of emotion. How will he react? Will he be shocked? Will he be proud? Will he freak out? Will he fall in love with his birth country or will it bring out hidden questions and anxieties?

I have no idea. This is why I planned a short trip. My guess is that he will have a mixture of all of those things. Seems better to give him a small taste and leave wanting more than to be there for two weeks with a child who might become an emotional wreck. I think even if we come home feeling like rainbows and butterflies that eventually all the other will bubble up. So the questions are: How will he react? Will the hard stuff come up immediately or later? Or both? Will this change his life?

I know it will change mine.