June 1, 2025, Sunday
We are leaving tonight for San Francisco with our apo, Theo. His parents are already missing him, most especially his mom. Iiyak daw sya everyday. I am worried that they will have difficulty when Theo is away but they also want him to come with us to meet his little cousins, Bryson, Bell, Aurora, and Camila.
Oyen is 6.5 months pregnant and cannot travel anymore. We also want her to catch up on sleep and to rest while Theo is on vacation.
It took several tries before the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) finally approved Theo’s permit to travel without his parents. The rules were more suited for OFWs and parents married in the Philippines. Theo’s parents were married in the US kaya medyo nagka delay in the processing. Their application was denied three times. A video call with my husband, in the middle of the wedding mass, was made by the DSWD officer, to ascertain the relationship with Theo. I was not in the video call but the permit to travel was issued under my name which was strange. I thought it would be under Edmund’s name.
The eleven hours and 45 minutes flight from Manila to San Francisco was maalog (turbulent) during the first 7 hours and intermittently in the succeeding two hours. At one point I began to feel dizzy. What made me more anxious was the fact that Theo was with us. He was sound asleep but Edmund and I were still holding him and making sure his seatbelt was securely fastened. Theo slept for 7.5 straight hours.
He got scared for a little bit when we were landing.
This is Theo’s second trip to San Francisco, the first was in December of 2023. He already knows the drill because aside from these USA trips, he was brought to Tokyo Disneyland by his parents in January of this year and he also took PAL recently to Boracay.
