Destination Paradise

Last week when I started drafting a list of ways many of us survive unwanted separation from our spouses, I realized that I was listing each strategy in order of when I discovered it, not necessarily in order of importance. So while the most important stuff will come later, for now, this one's a pretty big one: Coping Strategy #3: You absolutely MUST stay busy I don't think this one can be stated enough. When I find myself spending too much time wallowing in the awfulness of being separated from Carlos, the truth is, I just have too much available time. Although generally Lucas takes care of demanding my every waking moment, sometimes I have to actively look for ways to fill the remaining time so the glaring awfulness doesn't get to stand out. Besides the obvious ( work , daily tasks ), I've had to look for ways to invest myself in other people and other pursuits so that I can divert my energy to something besides mourning over the time my family has lost. Here...

This post is dedicated to all the people who wonder how we separated spouses do it, and to all those who know exactly how we do it because they live it every day. I get asked all the time how it's possible to survive this long in a separate country from my husband, while raising our child. Honestly, it's a very absurd concept to ponder: maintaining a life separated by more than a thousand miles from the person you love and swore to stand by for the rest of your life. But in practice, it's actually not so extraordinary. See, when you have no other choice, you do what you must. Obviously the simplest solution would be to eat a lot of ice cream, crawl under the covers, curl up in a ball, and try to never come out. And I'm not gonna lie: I've tried it. But then Lucas came along and that was no longer an option because as much as I'd like to stay in a sugar-induced state of self-pity in bed every morning, I have a child who not only needs me but literally grabs...

Lucas reads a bedtime story to Baby Tad This little boy is why we keep fighting.  He deserves to grow up surrounded by all that his/my birth country offers. People all over the world dream of living here, and I think my son should have just as much a chance as anyone to benefit and contribute to this society. We just need to get his Daddy here.

A wonderful, sincere, and kind reporter from the Chicago Tribune named Antonio Olivo interviewed me and Carlos for a story about maintaining families across borders through Skype. Later, Brian Cassella, an equally fantastic photographer, came and photographed the madness that is us talking via webcam. The photo above ran only in the print version, but the rest is visible online: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-separated-immigrant-families-20100731,0,1883435.story If you make it as far as the comments section, I would caution you to only proceed if you have a stomach for hateful and ignorant rantings. It's not too pretty in there! Anyway, that's the excitement for the weekend, and it's likely I'll have another small update later this week. Thank you for your support, as always!

Some updates for today: 1) We now have a petition up on change.org.  Signing it sends an email to Senator Durbin, and it only takes a couple seconds! Click the red button in the box below to get started: Petitions by Change.org | Start a Petition » We've also linked this petition on our Ways to Help page. 2) We have a new letter to mail him.  If you haven't sent a letter yet, or want to send another, check out our " Ways to Help " page for the text of the letters and the addresses to send them. 3)  We're also asking for prayer support, and you can stay updated on ways to pray for us on the Ways to Help page as well. Thank you!!

We've definitely surpassed 150 letters this week, so thank you to everyone who has written to Senator Durbin!  The momentum is building, and I have faith this is going to ultimately result in getting Carlos home to us.  Last night I had a really productive and encouraging conversation with someone I would consider an expert in pushing private legislation.  She helped me start brainstorming lots of ideas for the next few steps.  I'll keep you all updated on how to help, so for now let's keep finding Illinois voters to send letters to Senator Durbin.  Thank you all!