WAITING... WAITING...

I finally submitted all our documents to one of the accredited travel agencies last Friday. I picked the one with the cheapest placement fee of P800 (per applicant) which was located at Makati. The other travel agencies charge P2,000 to P2,500, which I feel is a bit too much for the application procedure. Anyway, when I got to the agency at around 9am, the woman at the counter checked all the papers and I found out that I had to get Ruther's birth certificate. This was a surprise because last time, all I submitted were the boys' and my birth certificates and our marriage certificate. I didn't have to add Ruther's. But apparently, the embassy was stricter this time and the woman at the counter said I needed to get his to complete our papers. A bit panicked, I called Mama and realized that I could get his certificate at NSO (National Statistics Office) Makati branch which was a short ride away. So I told the woman I would be back (hopefully before afternoon), hailed a taxi and prayed that there wasn't a long queue at the NSO center. When I got there, I had to fill out a form and get my number which was 180. Worried that I was going to be there all day, I listened for the cashier to call the next number for payment. It was 139. I was relieved. I didn't have to wait all day! (Yes, in the Philippines, you CAN be stuck in a queue for an entire day if you happened to have bad luck that day.) Anyway, I whiled the time way by fanning myself, eating some taho (I was hungry), and subtly observing the people around ( I like doing that). At around 11:15, my number was called and I paid the fee. On the receipt, it said "Date of release: June 27, 2008; Time: 11:45am". Not bad. I just had to wait for 30 more minutes. Surprise! At 11:30 Ruther's name was called and I claimed his birth certificate and grabbed a taxi back to the agency. The woman (surprised that I was back so soon) said that it would take 7 working days to process. So I would have to wait and if I want, I could follow-up the progress of the application by Monday next week. I thanked her and left. Before taking the bus, I bought a burger, fries, a drink and a frostee at Wendy's. I thought of having my lunch in the bus on the way to Baclaran. I got off at Baclaran church and paid for a mass for Ethan's complete recovery and for the approval of our application. I do hope everything will go well. Before riding the jeep that would take me home, I bought 2 toy helicopters from a vendor for the boys. When I finally got home, I was so exhausted I just wanted to fall asleep immediately. But I wanted to have a bath first because I just felt so icky from all the commuting. Anyway, the boys were having their nap when I arrived home but they woke up shortly after I had my bath. So I have them their helicopters and told Nikki I was going to rest for a bit. I slept like a log. But Nikki woke me up at 6pm and I cooked them supper. It was a long and exhausting day that Friday, but this waiting thing is just terrible. It's like there's this sword suspended above me waiting to fall or I'm just holding my breath until I find out the results. Sigh. I know, I should be more patient. But it's just so hard!! Do help us pray for the approval of our application. The visa will be good for 90 days but if all goes well and we make it to Japan, we could always request for an extension (which will be for another 90 days). So that's all that's holding me up now. I'm just hoping with all my heart that my family will be reunited soon.