The day before Luis left the U.S. (01/15/18)

Luis's Visa appointment in Juarez was scheduled for Friday, January 19th. We'd had plenty of warnings for him to arrive in Juarez at least 3 days before, as he would need to have a medical appointment (despite the 2 he'd had here) where he would have a physical and receive additional vaccinations (despite the several he'd received here). He would also have a biometrics appointment, where he would be fingerprinted (despite having already driven to Memphis early in the process specifically to have that done). He was to fly out Tuesday morning. We scheduled his medical exam at 6am Wednesday morning, in case it took a long time (we'd heard horror stories of days passes waiting in line with no food despite appointments). We scheduled his biometrics appointment for 4pm Tuesday evening.

His Tuesday flight to Houston was to leave at 8am, with an hour layover. His flight from Houston to El Paso would arrive at 1:30pm, with plenty of time for him to take a taxi to Juarez and familiarize himself with the location of the offices he would be visiting. We needed to have him at the Nashville airport at 6am, leaving our house at 5:15am. I had let Isaac's teacher know I would be bringing him to school late. Monday afternoon, there was an ice storm in Houston (poor beleaguered city), and Luis's flight from Houston to El Paso was cancelled. Expedia informed me, and I was able to schedule another flight later in the day, giving him a longer layover (bonus: it would give him more of a cushion if his Nashville flight was affected).

Luis was packed early (he is definitely the prepared half of our couple). I however like to fly by the seat of my pants, so I decided that the day had been kinda boring and could use a little stress to keep things interesting. I waited until the last minute to scan in the paperwork Luis was taking with him in his accordion folder. I had never used the scanner setting on my printer and didn't have the paper manual, so I had to locate it online and learn how to use it. Then, I had to use it (It isn't a very efficient system compared with one's I've used in the workplace). It. Took. Hours. There, stress level raised, much better.

We got Oscar's for dinner (fish tacos for me, tacos de asada for Luis, and quesadillas for the boys). Samuel was a little cranky, and Luis's nerves were wired, so we did an early bedtime. We went through our normal routine: Isaac got into bed, I tucked him in and sang his blessing song, and Luis sat on the side of the bed with him for a minute. Then, Luis sat on the couch with Sam (passy and Mickey Mouse blanket in hand) in the darkened living room for 5 minutes, to wind him down. He then carried him to his room and tucked him into bed.

"Goodnight, sweet boy."
"Nigh'- nigh', Dah-yee".
"Love you."
"Wuv woo".

We didn't know it at the time, but the boys and Luis would have to wait 5 months before they would see each other again.