I first brought it up to Miguel in December of 2010, his answer, NO!!! We are not moving to Mexico! Then, in January after GA approved the HB87, I brought it up again, this time, after off and on converstaion for a week, he finally agreed.
I remember planning our move, I was so excited1 I had always wanted to move to Mexico and even though the reason for our move was not so great, I was super excited! Miguel on the other hand not so excited, of course, he was happy to be seeing his parents but, the thought of being stuck in Mexico until INS decides to let him return to the Staes was terrifying for him. He had gotten used to living in the Staes and couldn't see hisself living in Mexico but, was willing to come because, I wanted to.
We left my grandmother's house on Friday, March 11, 2011 at 5:00PM. It was a bittersweet moment, we were all excited but, sad to leave my family. My grandmother and mom cried, my dad told Miguel to takle care of all 3 of his babies (Jeni, Nando, and I). My brother gave me one of the longes hardest hugs he has ever given me. I was sick, I had been packing in the cold all day and for the past couple of hours, had been sneezing.
We got gas and some burgers from Wendy's and were on our way. I fell asleep an hour into the trip. At 11:00, we finally stopped in Montgomery, Alabama. I had a fever and felt just plain horrible. I bought 3 bottles of orange juice and some Nyquil. The next morning, we woke up 2 hours later than we had planned.
That day, we drove through the rest of Alabama, all of Mississippi, Lousiana, and half way through Texas. We finally stopped at 12:30 that night in a little road side hotel in the southern outskirts of Houston. The hotel was old and shabby but, it would do to sleep.On Sunday morning, we woke up at 7:00AM. It was hot finally!!! When we left GA it was freezing so, this was welcomed. Due to the heat, we had some reorganizing to do, I had to pack up the blankets and coats in to the truck bed but, it was as full as it could be. I took out a box and quickly went through it, I left alot of things in that hotel, we had no room for extras by that time.
Alabama
Jeni and Luis modeling for the camera! They had a great time!
Modeling in Lousiana
Another traveler offered to take this picture for us.
Lake Pontchartrain. This lake is huge!! For like 7 miles all we could see on both sides was water and all was this lake!!
3 crosses in the middle of Louisiana
A beautiful sunset in Louisiana. This was my peace in the storm of traveling with 2 wild kids!!
It was late when we arrived to Texas but, the kids were still excited about modeling in the signs!!
They tried to swing on the star!
We got back on the road and continued on, the kids loved our last breakfast in the US, we ate at Dairy Queen. They had Cheese burgers and Ice Cream!
We then road through a very small town and stopped at McDonald's to go to the restroom. Jeni was so shocked to see that the bathroom only had 1 toilet!
An antique toy store in small town Texas.
An old fashioned gas staion, that was something, I haven't seen in years!!
Flags in McAllen, Texas
When we were about to go past the 2nd Border Patrol checkpoint, Miguel asked if I was sure, that after that, there was no turning back. I was nervous but, said yeah, I am sure, let's go. We passed the cameras and there was no turning back.
We crossed into Matamoros at 5:00PM on Sunday, March 13, 2011. We stopped at the Sorian right beside the border and had to call Miguel's uncle from a pay phone, the cell quick working right when we crossed the line.
As soon as we arrived to his uncle's house, out came his mom. Immediately, she grabbed her son and started crying, I think we all cried then. She hugged me and told me thank you for bringing my son back to me.
I would go through it all again to see that smile again! He was so happy.
Though he won't admit it, he is a Mama's boy. I love this picture, it shows his love for his Mama.
Our "Welcome to Mexico" gift!!
We had a great time there that night. The next day, off we went to Monterrey.
We had a great welcome awaiting us in Monterrey, all were very happy to see us.
This post totally takes me back to my move to Mexico. Although, mine was a bit different than yours. I drove by myself with my two little ones at the times (16 months and 2 months) from Indianapolis to Nuevo Laredo. My husband took a bus up from our small town in Mexico to the border to meet me. Oh, how long ago that seems. For me, it will be 4 years the beginning of May.
ReplyDeleteTime does fly. It is nice to see that you were the one to decide to come down here. And, saying goodbye is never easy!
Even with your ups and downs, it seems like you have a positive outlook about things. That is very imporant.
Hope you are feeling well!
Thanks for sharing your story with us. At least you guys had a long family road trip together before coming down here.
ReplyDeleteWOW! I remember my husband and I driving through all those states to get to Mexico. It seemed like Texas took forever... I love reading about your life. Especially posts like this. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteOh, happy one yr. aniversario!
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome!! I loved our trip from Indianapolis to El Salvador. I will never forget it :)
ReplyDeleteDid you guys start any of the immigration process before you left?