Our Iranian visas had not arrived and we were set to leave in 2 days. Once we heard that they were confirmed in Iran, we still had to get the confirmation codes sent to the Iranian Embassy in Washington, D.C. to get the final clearance. We had to consider if we wanted to risk waiting for them on the day of our flight, biting our nails with stress, or go ahead and reschedule our flights for a later day, paying a hefty fee to do so.
Then my husband came up with another idea. He bought a ticket to Washington, D.C. for the day before our flight. He went directly to the Iranian visa office there (he had called ahead to tell them he would be there) and got the relevant info and clearance. While he was there he discovered that his own Iranian Visa, which he thought had previously been completely cleared, had not been, so it was a very good thing that he'd gone ahead and flown out there directly! He arrived back in Texas the night before our flight.
Stress.
We had packed 5 large suitcases, 5 carry ons, 5 backpacks, and 5 large boxes. Believe it or not, we still had many belongings that we had to leave behind. I really wanted the kids to be able to take whatever special items such as their toys and books which they liked. These children have had to move a lot and give up a lot of stability, so I wanted them to have personal items that give them comfort.
I mentally prepared for the long flights ahead. Of course my main worry was that the kids would be bored and get restless during the 15+ hours of the first part. Also worrying was their potential exhaustion in the next 10 hours until we arrived in Pardisan. And then of course, I was nervous about the shock of being in a new place and country, establishing a new routine.
To be continued...
InshaaAllah
Alhamdulillah
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