To my daughter Melanie (April, 2023)

  01/04 - Chapter 50: Projectile vomiting

Today was a very complicated day for me because I was scared the whole day. Today you woke up mumbling around 9 am, and I started breastfeeding you. I usually stay with you for about 10 minutes after you fall asleep and then I put you back in bed but today (thank God) I passed 10 minutes. You just suckled one breast, I even tried to force the other a little bit, but you didn't want to.

Soon after, you projectile vomiting.... something surreal, horrifying that I have never seen in my life and a few seconds later you did AGAIN. I screamed scared and your father woke up worried and helped me. I was in shock. If I had put you in the crib a little earlier, you sleeping on your back would have you killed FOR SURE!

Sometimes I don't know what to do...you throw up and have reflux but never like that. Nowadays it is proven that sleeping on your back is the safest way to prevent SIDS but at the same time I know that if it had happened while you were sleeping, you would no longer be here. But if you were sleeping on your side, it would save your life.

So I don’t know the best way to protect you!

Then throughout the day you had a runny nose and a low fever, so we understand that your strange vomiting was due to a virus. You were sick.

 02/04 - Chapter 51: If you're sick, I'm sick

Today I got sick. I got your flu. But you're already well, my breast milk is working miracles. I'm going to see if I drink breast milk too to see if my flu gets weak like yours because I feel really bad again.

06/04 - Chapter 52: 4 Little Angels

My love, I'm sorry for my absence. I planned to write every day but life with a baby is very busy and the time you sleep is the time mommy has to work, shower, eat... I don't even know what watching a series or a movie is anymore. I know that the intention and desire is to write every day, but at night all I want is to sleep and rest the same as you.

And this week was really hard because I got your flu (again) and I got a lot sicker and weaker than you. You are reacting very well. You just got a little stomachache.

Did you see why breast milk is so important? Your cousin Rafinha also got it and he's even worse than I am. Vomiting, pale, don't eat anything, very sicky... I'm going to drink my own breast milk in a little while to boost my immunity because I'm also weak.

Anyway... Yesterday a tragedy happened in Brazil, in a place called Blumenau which is in the south of Brazil and I even considered living there because the south is much quieter and Blumenau is a tourist and small town. It seems that nowhere are we safe.

Last week another school shooting took place in the USA, with 3 children under 10 years old dead, and a few days later, here in Brazil, a monster broke in a day care and killed 4 children (6-9 years) with an AX.

I honestly don't know how I'm going to raise you in such a dark and horrible world. I think if something like that happened to you, my life would end there. The pain of losing a child must be unbearable, even more so knowing that your kid died in such an horrific way. on't get me wrong, life has beautiful things too. But nowadays I'm sure that evil is standing out.

When I was a kid I didn't know evil, my world was innocent and colorful. There was only love, affection and colors! This is the life I wanted to give and show you, but I believe that if I do that your fall will be huge, just like mine was, and your ability to deal with the real world will be low. And we need to live in reality. Living in a non-existent fairy tale preserved my heart for a long time, but it wasn't 100% fruitful.

Light and dark. Black and white. But if you insist on seeing only the dark side then you will always be unhappy. I know that many times we just want to see the bad side, but to survive in this apocalyptic world, we also need to focus on the good things.

So when something terrible like this event happens and you hear about it, go to YouTube and search for "acts of kindness" in order to restore your energy and faith in humanity, even if it's for a brief moment. Try to replace negative thoughts and things with positive things, believe me, that's the only way we can move forward in this crazy world. Oh, and just because I used the known metaphor "black and white" I would be called 'racist'. That's the world we're living nowadays.

I feel that we are no longer humans but machines. Love has been forgoting and evil is multiplying. We can't make a single mistake, we're afraid of making mistakes. People have a hard time accepting each other because they think different.

And social media is not making it easy, it's just making everything way more toxic. We are living in a global epidemic of loneliness (not Covid) because people believe interacting on social media is better than real life.

Coming back to the tragedy that took place ... The death and loss of a child are frequently called the ultimate tragedy. Nothing can be more devastating. Many parents who have lost their son or daughter report feeling they can only “exist,” and every motion or need beyond that seems nearly impossible. It has been said that coping with the death and loss of a child requires some of the most challenging work one will ever have to do.

The relationship between parents and their children is among the most intense in life.

Although very unlikely I really wish there's a heaven, and I wish those angels can be in a better place. An enchanting, colorful place surrounded by clouds made of cotton candy and streams of ice cream. A place where children play all the time and feel immense happiness. A sunny place. No crime, no death, no hate, no darkness.

10/04 - Chapter 53: The damn fear or flying

The trip is coming and with it my fear is increasing. Baby, I was already so afraid of flying, and now my fear has doubled because not only am I afraid of dying like that, but also of something happening to you and me not being able to protect you.

I keep thinking that my whole life I dreamed about having you, how unfair would it be for me to experience a magical love like this (and reciprocal) for just 6 months? I hope that if there is a God, he will allow us to have many years together and that I can spend the rest of my life shaping the human being that you will be.

I still have so much to teach you, so much to love you, so much to live with you. My heart starts to worry.

Today your father and I had our third couples therapy session. I don't know, love, each session that passes seems to be clearer that we won't make it :( He and I really wanted it to work. For him, for me, for us and for you. But it's not working :( I'm feeling sad. Sad that I don't know what to do, sad that I feel useless for not being able to get you out of here. I feel like I'm drowning… desperate for a simple breath.

At night, your father told me that he found cheaper tickets to Orlando, both direct flights (no connection) and even with Dalta instead of Latam. Damn, I preferred Delta a thousand times over Latam. I'm sorry, but I trust American aviation a lot more than... well, never mind.

Latam has already suffered very serious accidents. They don't have my confidence. I hope we're okay. I feel like crying just thinking about getting on that plane with you.

I do not want to lose you. I don't want anything bad to happen to you. I don't know how to get this bad thought out of my head. Argh…..  Btw, You are more beautiful, cute and smart every day.
The greatest pride of my life!

16/04 - Chapter 54: Little Mermaid, Taxes and Corruption, Felipe Neto and the resemblance with Cujo,

Today for the first time we celebrate your month anniversary on the wrong date. We always celebrate on the 19th of each month, but this time I had to throw your little party on the 16th, because tomorrow, the 17th, we'll be going to Disney!

This time you were dressed as the Little Mermaid (well, us) and everyone said it was the most beautiful decoration so far. Yay =D

There are still 5 more months to go but lately I've been sad because that imbecile Lula decided to tax international purchases of all amounts. I used to buy our costume every month on Aliexpress, but now the country of injustice has decided to tax 60% on ALL merchandise.

I already spend a lot of money every month, including the costume. I don't know how to do it now. If I buy the 10 (5 of yours and 5 mine) that are missing and I hope to have time before they start taxing or if I send them to the US and send them through Luciana’s luggages.

This horrible corrupt government has already started to affect my life. I also made good money reselling some merchandise, but now that's another source of income that's gone. Now I’m just waiting them tax the Pix. A matter of time. Thieves.

Worst of all, this guy has a legion of fans, who follow and admire him no matter what he does. Even though he was convicted by different judges with a huge dossier of evidence, many blindly believe in his innocence.

Love, try never to be fanatical about anything. Fanaticism for any subject or person is bad, blinds, and makes you dumb. There's an "influencer", a youtuber actually called Felipe Neto. He built his fame by badmouthing and criticizing others. Imagine a person with a negative aura, that's him.

He is a person with millions and millions of followers on several social networks, and instead of using his influence 4 good, he uses it for bad. He uses his influence only to spread discord, anger, cancel others, slur... He looks like the dog Cujo. A dog foaming with rage. He was against this president in the past but guess what happened? Fame and … he has a lack of character (besides being a negative human being). With that being said, Obviously he found a way to justify taxing his pet president.

Babe, if Bolsonaro had done this (but he didn't, he promised he wouldn't and kept his word at least) he would have made a video of at least 20 min utes cursing him.

This is called being partial. In life it is very important that you are IMPARTIAL, watch out this grotesque example of partiality.

See it? Daughter, when you are a citizen of a country, don't have a pet politician, criticize what needs to be criticized and praise what needs to be praised. Demand changes but also know how to recognize the good things. This is not just for politics but for everything.

Assuming you want to be a journalist... baby, do an impartial job, know how to transmit the news leaving your choices and thoughts aside. Do honest and ethical work. This is sorely missing from journalists around the world. Ethic.

Going back to Felipe Neto, it's a shame that a guy with so much influence uses it for something bad; to further divide the country and people. A fanatical person in his ideologies who only wishes bad things for those who think differently from him.

Someone who spreads hate like him is unfortunate to see being rewarded with money and fame.

Well, I don't believe in life after death, but if I did, I don't think Felipe Neto would go to a good place. His spirit has no light and he would need a lot of evolution and love in his heart.

It doesn’t matter how many fans or how much money you have, in the end, money can’t buy character or a good heart.

Never defend one side. Be, again, impartial whenever you can, always trying to discover and unravel the other side of the story. Seek information from more than one source, research, study, don't be a sheep and don't easily believe the media and everything you see.

Anyway. Tomorrow is our trip. I hope everything works out and we get there safe and sound. I hope this is not my last tweet, I really wanna live tons of years with you. Preserve love in your heart, babe

17/04 - Chapter 55: Everything went wrong but we're still alived, Scam & Lost passport

Everything went well on the trip. We're still alive. Yay. I confess that inside the plane I felt fear, anxiety, agony... Everything was going wrong. First, my mother's ticket was in my father's name, then they sent us to a preferential queue that took twice as long as the standard queue. Arriving there, the attendant asked for proof of the vaccine against COVID, and the government website itself says that it is no longer necessary. And note: In the United States they do not require. If they don't demand, why does the airline asks that to the passengers? The worst thing is that all of us, with the exception of you, have both doses of the vaccine, but we forgot the card... After I showed the government website, the attendant let it go and didn't say anything else. But she started to annoy me by saying that my two courtesy luggages that I got from Latam weren't showing up for her... As the flight was very close, the man next to her said to let it go because they were already closing everything for the flight.

Okay, battle won. When we arrived at immigration, the federal police asked for a moment, taking your and your parents' documents. We were concerned because it was weird, but everything worked out, just a little more delay.

At the time of boarding, my ticket was the only one that gave an error saying "The passenger is already on the flight" twice, and after that, they selected your father and grandpa for a security interview, they were left behind in that moment and me, you and your grandma had to walk to the plane without them. Inside the aircraft there was a father and a son who were in my seat. They put both me and the father in the same seat. It took time and time.

The flight attendant didn't find me on the passenger list. I had a slight hope that they would put me in first class given the stupid mistake made by the airline and considering that the flight was full. But no, they sent me to any seat anyway. What was worse was that we were all separated. Each in a different corner of the plane.

But in the end, we managed to stay 3 together and your grandpa separated. All this going wrong, obviously I interpreted it as a sign and that we weren't supposed to board. But I didn't let fear take over me and we went. The first hour was pretty harrowing and terrifying for me. I just thought that if something happened to you, it would have been my fault because I was the one who wanted to take this trip.

Right before we took off you were already asleep, and I was still sleeping THREE HOURS after the flight took off. It was already 5 hours left for us to arrive when you woke up. That is, almost half of the way.

And at that moment I was already more calm, and relaxed. When you woke up, we managed to distract you. We walked with you for a while in the aisle, we changed your diaper, I gave you a bottle, I put cartoons for you on the plane, music on the laptop, toys, and that was how we kept distracting you, until you got bored and ended up falling asleep again when there were about two or three more hours left. You slept until almost the end of the flight, with an hour left before landing.

Well, it was quiet and easy to distract you for that one hour. I was so apprehensive about how the flight would go but you were simply an ANGEL, again and again. It was a joy to travel with you and I felt proud of my baby.

We land safely, and we think: now it's just joy, everything will be fine... And life laughs sarcastically and yells: HELL, NO :)

Getting off the plane we were lucky to be at the front, which means we got through immigration fast and picked up a friendly agent. When picking up the rental car, that was the problem. First, the company did not have at the airport what is already a red flag. Afterwards, when we asked at the information kiosk, the person said he had never heard of this company, red flag number 2. When we called, it was Mexican/Indian/Greek answering the phone, red flag number 3.

I was putting the pieces together and guess what: it was a scam. They said that our reservations were canceled, but they weren't, the U$900 (R$5.000,00) already appeared on the card statement. I was angry and very sad for ur grandfpa. Luciana came to greet us and give us a ride, and she also lent us her car to get us to the house we rented.

When we arrived at the condominium, when it was time to present the document, my father could not find his passport. We were worried, but when we arrived at the house we were so delighted with everything that we left it to look a little later. But when we started looking, despair: the passport was nowhere to be seen, my dad probably left it somewhere at the airport.

Losing a passport in a foreign country is VERY complicated. This ended our joy, everyone was sad and upset because of this situation, there was no time to be happy.

18/04 - Chapter 56: Don't take your frustrations out on others, help whenever you can & DENNY'S

As soon as we woke up, me, your grandfather and your father went to the airport to try to solve the passport problem. Meanwhile your grandmother stayed with you in the house. Our trip wouldn't start until we got this sorted out. And off we went. With hope and apprehension.

We got there and went straight to the Alamo kiosk. Obviously the passport was no longer there. While I asked where the "lost and found" at the airport was, your father went to ask an attendant at the Alamo about the passport.

The man told your father that he didn't have a passport because they didn't hold that kind of thing there and he had to search the lost and found. Not wanting to help at all.

Then we walked through a part of the airport to find the lost and found. It took a while until we finally found it. Our hope was high.

A man who was very unhappy with his life and especially with his work came to assist us. And people who are unhappy usually don't help you much, they take out their life's frustrations on you.

It took a few minutes and he came back saying he didn't have any passports there. At that moment our hopes were gone. It could only be in the lost and found if it wasn't in the Alamo there was nowhere else to look.

After that, my father still hoped that we hadn't looked too hard in the luggages and that it was there. I called my mom who nearly cried on the phone, and she said she would look through everything again.

PS: the lost and found man said that, if my dady didn't find his passport he would have to go to the American embassy in Miami (5 hours by car) to get another one. F*cking nightmare.

Well, we went to the other Alamo counter, the one on the other side of the airport, although that wasn't where we were maybe someone sent us to that counter... a manager, I don't know? This other guy was much more nice than the other one at the first counter, he even went to look inside, but there was absolutely nothing.

All that was left was disappointment. Even though my father didn't look sad and worried (I knew he was).

Well, we went back to the first Alamo, where he thought he lost his passport. There was a redheaded girl who seemed to be very nice, I waited my turn and tried desperately to ask her, explaining a little the situation. She was a little confused, which wasn't a good sign, but she went to look inside anyway.

It took her a while to get back, but when she did she said she had some passports in there, and if my dad could give her some form of ID to see if it matched some of the passports she had.

As soon as she said that, my hope returned, I asked my father and he despairingly said that he would not be there, but he handed over the document anyway.

After a while, VICTORY, the nice girl returned with a blue passport in her hands. We were all very happy.

Moral of the story, babe: A guy who could have helped us the minute we arrived at the airport, out of laziness, for not being a good employee, for taking his frustrations out on customers, made us waste more than an hour at the airport, created feelings of despair and agony in us throughout the search. If I hadn't tried one more time with the nice woman, and we had given up, we would have traveled to Miami and back for more than 10 hours, stood in line at the American embassy facing a HUGE problem for a selfish attitude. For simply not wanting to help, not wanting to understand the other's problem.

The other girl saved our days, our vacations, our trip. She was a hero. That is, babe, whenever you have the opportunity, help others. If you are not happy with your work, change it, make some changes, but never, ever take it out on others, on someone who has nothing to do with it. This goes for when you're in a bad mood too. People are not to blame for our problems or what happens in our personal lives. Be kind. Be a good employee, a good boss, a good human being. Be empathetic. Put yourself in the place of the next one. That person who is there today with problems, could be you tomorrow. Help to be able, who knows when you need it, to be helped too.

After that I went to the Alamo manager to talk about the angel and about the man who almost ruined us. I know that nothing will happen to him, nor did I want it to, but who knows... If we'd had cash with us there, we would have given it to her as a thank you, but we hadn't withdrawn cash yet. We were sad not to be able to properly thank her. And after that too, we rented a car from Alamo.

From there, we picked up you and my mother and went to Denny's to eat. How we missed it. Your dad doesn't like it very much, but your grandparents and I love Denny's. That tasty, tasty, giant hamburger, with delicious frues and always serving us very well. We hadn't eaten there in YEARS and now we ate happily, with a problem solved.

And from there, we went to Burlington, where we stayed shopping until the store closed at 11 pm. Your grandmother went crazy, bought almost the entire store in the first store we entered. And all for you, and your cousin.

19/04 - 02/05 Chapter 57: A Disney summary

My love, it's so hard to write to you every day. That was the intention, but adult life is not very easy. The days in Orlando were very busy, and we got home very tired at night. VERY TIRED. In fact, Orlando was more about work than vacation.

We didn't have much family time, and every day was practically shopping. I, for the first time, bought a lot of things for my clients, but I also bought a lot for myself. I bought clothes, clothes, clothes, clothes. Beautiful clothes, no specific brand, but that I had never found in the US before. Comfy fabrics, divine clothes... I renewed my wardrobe, but only summer pieces, and now winter is coming. Burlington, Ross, DD'S Discount...

The problem with all this is that since I spent a lot on myself and also bought more things for you, I ended up not making much profit with the things I bought to sell.

On the first day we bought a lot of things, and we still had 11 more days to go. Imagine how many more things we would buy? Your father was shocked because he had never seen so much shopping in his life.

I asked to heat the pool for 3 days for us to enjoy. We ended up not enjoying it much because we didn't stop at home, but at night we tried to go. Before heating the pool I tried to put you in natural water but you cried. You don't like cold water, babe.

Now hot water you love, you look like a little fish. You swam with me for those days. We also started your food introduction. I bought baby food from Gerber and you liked most of them. He loved sweet potatoes, and corn with sweet potatoes.

So far, they've been her favorites. I tried green beans but you didn't like it. And the fruit baby food you liked them all. You've already tasted papaya, apple, pear and banana. And so far, you liked them all.

Keeping you on my lap while we shopped was quite challenging. We took turns, but since I needed to take pictures of the products and post it in the group, your dad and grandparents ended up staying with you more. Your grandmother bought too many things for you and your cousin Rafinha. Up to 1 year old you have enough clothes hahaha.

On Disney's day, we woke up earlier. And we met Luciana close to the park. Luciana is a friend of Mom's who works with me bringing goods from Brazil, and we always share the profit. It's a two-way friendship. She has already helped me a lot and I help her a lot.

We help each other. We're not BFFs, far from it, it seems more like a commercial friendship, but that's how friendship should be. Where one helps the other. That's Luciana and you.

Luciana got tickets for us a little cheaper and she gave them to me as a gift for helping her so much (see? one helping the other). We entered the park and it was pretty full. We were all dressed in red clothes with "MOM, DAD, GRANDMA, GRANDPA" and you MINNIE on them.

Your outfit was 2 years old, so you got a dress. You actually didn't understand anything, you actually didn't care about anything or pay attention to anything. I thought you'd look at the characters, the castle... But you're too young.

For your grandpa was torture because Disney, fairy tales, walking in the park, not being able to smoke... But he does everything for his children and grandchildren, your grandpa was a very good father and he is an even more wonderful grandfather.

Your dad was also disappointed because he thought it would have more adult attractions and worth his money. The only attraction was Space Mountain, which we went twice. It's my favorite attraction out of all the parks I've been to. I love that roller coaster ride in the dark, with the lights and glowing tunnels, it feels like you're seeing constellations. Love it too much!

But when it comes to attractions, Disney is really more for children, for you to take your children, and make them live an inexplicable magic. With luck, your dad and I will still have the chance to take you another time when you're older and really enjoy the park, I'm sure he'll feel his money was worth it just to see you happy.Close to the start of the Disney fireworks show, it started to rain. Your grandma and I were sad because the show is one of the most beautiful things in the park and what makes it also worth the money. It's magical, chills, excites. And when it rains, unfortunately there is no show. Can you imagine people who went there for the first time and don't have much opportunity to go and have this happen? I could only feel privileged to have gone other times and been able to watch that wonder.We talked about leaving, because it could be that we waited longer and the show didn't happen anyway, but we kept waiting for your grandmother, we knew she really wanted to watch it, even if it was for the 3rd/4th time, it's her favorite part. And because we insisted so much it worked, we saw almost the whole show, only from the back this time, because we wanted to be close to the door to leave when it was over because we had a 6 month old baby.Even watching from the background, it was beautiful! We took the train and left. We were exhausted. But it was a day we took advantage of you.

This whole week the weather app showed that it was going to rain. We went to Disney, and we almost missed the show, but I still really wanted to go to Universal Island of Adventure with your dad, because he and I love attractions like roller coasters, and we needed some alone time, to have fun and connect, and I know he would love it.

But time was passing and the weekend was approaching, and we weren't going on the weekend. One, because it's too crowded, and two, because the park closes at 6 pm instead of 9 pm on weekdays. That is, you lose 3 more hours on the weekend in addition to facing huge queues.Well, on Thursday we woke up early and guess what? The weather forecast showed rain almost all day.I was upset because I knew that was the last day we had to go but your father and I decided that we weren't going to go because spending so much money and rain all day, not being able to go to the attractions... not good.So, I went up to the room and tried to sleep with you a little longer, I managed to sleep for another 2 hours. I woke up around 11 am still sad. I was very upset and I tried to convince your father that we should still go because the weather wasn't cloudy or bad at all, and there were several days that showed that it would rain and it didn't rain at all.I asked to take a risk. He didn't want to, and it's understandable... spending 150 dollars, taking a risk when the app weather is showing rain all day... But anyway, I managed to convince him, we went and it was the best decision we had.As soon as we arrived at the park, we were already faced the Hulk roller coaster, and it always has more than hours of queue. And guess what? It was showing 20 minutes of waiting. We went right away. I've never seen a roller coaster there with barely a queue.I thought it was just coincidence. Until we go to the tower's free fall... 5 minutes queue. Next: spiderman simulator, 15 minutes queue. These rides usually had hours and hours of queuing. That is, the weather was good, and there was no queue. Just having gone on those 3 rides in a period of time that added up to 30 minutes, the tickets were already worth it. I even told him that I felt sorry for those who had paid for the express line that day.Express line is a way for you to get ahead of the "poor people", skipping the queue and going ahead of everyone on the rides. But the price of this express queue is the ticket price, that is, you pay 2x. $300 total per person. But those who are rich can afford that, right? It's like traveling first class lol.
Afterwards, we walked in the park and arrived at the aquatic section. There's a Popeye ride that gets everyone soaked and it's usually around a 2 hour queue. I LOVE this attraction.

Me, your aunt, and your grandparents loved it the first time we went, because it was very hot, so it kept us cool all day. And there was almost no queue again either.

As we went to the world of dinosaurs, the queue started to increase a little, but nothing out of this world either. The Harry Potter simulator was 20 minutes away. The first and last time I went to this attraction, the queu was more than 3 hours.Now, the T-REX roller coaster, which was the most radical, had a 50-minute queue. But it looked amazing and your dad really wanted to go. Since we had lucked out on all the rides, what was waiting 50 minutes in line for an attraction as good as this one? So we went.

We waited about 50 min and when we sat down, lowered the safety catch and were ready to go, we heard the operator say: "Ladies and gentlemen, due to bad weather, we are temporarily closing our attraction." Babe, we stayed in line for more than 1 hour, we SAT DOWN and ready, and WELL, IN OUR TURN this happened.Wow...... we didn't know what to do. We decided to wait a bit and we started to see people giving up, and giving up, and giving up, until it got empty and empty. As we were inside the attraction, and it was a closed space, we didn't know about the bad weather.It was already late afternoon, and it was forecast to rain all day, so we were already benefiting. Well, your father and I reached a consensus that if it had been raining all this time, all the outside attractions would still be closed, which would leave us with few options. So we stayed there for another 50 minutes or so, until the attraction opened again.And it was worth every second of waiting because the roller coaster was incredible.One of the best I've ever been to, and so is your dad. Much superior than that of the Hulk, by the way. Leaving there, we enjoyed some more attractions, one of them is the dinosaur that seems to be silly, but in the end you fall from a height imitating a splash in the dark and it is sensational. I love feeling butterflies in my stomach. And finally, we risk going on the Harry Potter roller coaster. It's a new attraction there, and we weren't expecting much. But, oh boy, were we wrong. It was the best or the second best attraction we went to. We had to queue for 40 minutes but it was worth it.It's a different roller coaster.First, you ride a motorbike or a car, and the speed is so high that the cart shoots. There are no loops or anything upside down, but it's like you're driving at 400km/h. It also goes backwards at an absurd speed

and out of nowhere there is a free fall from one rail to another, where for a few seconds you think your cart has broken down. It is very good. I hope to have the opportunity in the future to go on these 2 new roller coasters with my mother, your grandma, because she loves it, and she stopped going with us to take care of you so that your father and I could have fun. That night we went to meet you and your grandparents at Denny's. We had to eat one last time in our favorite place.
I also forgot to mention that a few days after we arrived and started food translation in Orlando, you started waking up in the morning to breastfeed. Usually between 7-10 am, but then you'd go back to sleep until about 11-12. It must be the food introduction because before that you wouldn't wake up at all. Since you were born I always had to wake you up.
On the night before leaving: all the luggage craziness. We were separating all the products inside the luggages we had, and not everything fit, so we had to buy another extra bag, and after that, the weight seemed to be at the limit. So = stressThe day to leave has unfortunately arrived. We had to be at the airport by 3:30 pm because our flight left at 5:30 am, we would arrive in Miami at 6:30 am and we would fly from there to São Paulo at 8:20 am.Well, my father never arrives at the airport 2/3 hours before, but MUCH before, he is always very afraid of missing the plane. But it sucks to spend hours and hours at the airport because usually everything works out. We went to Luciana first to say goodbye and weigh the bags, and on her scale the bags were very underweight, so we still managed to take out many things that were in the backpacks that we were carrying on our backs and put them in the luggages, that was a relief.
When we arrived at the airport, the queue at Latam was huge, I'm glad we arrived at 1:30/2h, bc it took a long time. My dad was in line for almost an hour. In our turn, good news and bad news. The bad thing is that the Latam attendant asked for proof of vaccination. Everyone said that in the US no one was asking, but LATAM.... ALWAYS LATAM RIGHT. On the way there, on the way back... Brazil is not demanding anymore, so... why? We got stressed, but in the end we managed to find it and everything worked out.Now the good news: the man said we had 2 bags included each. What???? I think he was mistaken and didn't know how to see it, because no airline includes luggage anymore.But we were VERY happy, it would be around 200 dollars each to check the luggages. Look how much we saved. And I was very happy not to have bought the luggages in Brazil and risk it in the US beliving it was cheaper. We went to the boarding area excited.But then the bad things started to happen. The flight was delayed 15 minutes. So far so good, we still had time. But my dad said: this is how delayed flights start. We hoped not... But my dad was right and the delayed flight time went on and on and on... At the end of the day, the flight was delayed by ONE hour, and we were going to leave at 6:30 am now, arriving in Miami at 7:30 am, exactly the time that we would start the flight to São Paulo.We've been stressed and apprehensive. But surprisingly the pilot made the trip from Orlando to Miami in 35 minutes, so it was all VERY fast. We went up and down.BUT, things didn't end there. As soon as we landed, perhaps because we arrived before the scheduled time (1h the pilot did it in 35 minutes) there was no gate available to park the aircraft.Well, we were on the ground for ONE HOUR, ONE HOUR. More time on the ground than traveling in the air. That is, as soon as we got off the plane, it was 8:16, the flight left at 8:20.Our hope was that the airline was waiting for us and delayed their flight a few minutes as well, since there were A LOT of passengers like us making a connection. As soon as we got off the plane, we asked a woman from Latam about the gate and she replied: You need to go to gate X, to re-book your flight.And I asked: WHAT? WE MISSED THE FLIGHT. And she nodded yes. A mix of "yeah, unfortunately" with a bit of a "yeah, you guys are fuck*d" giggle. I do not know how to explain.Well, all the passengers didn't listen to her and ran to the boarding gate, and there we ran too, me, with a 6-month-old baby in my arms. Lovely. But, arriving at the gate, not only had the aircraft already left, but it left at 8:15, BEFORE THE SCHEDULE.Everyone was pissed, very angry, very stressed. Your grandfpa was about to have a heart attack. He was very nervous about Latam and cursing everyone at that company. Passengers started to gather, to gather, to gather, and they all went to Latam together. And guess what? Latam treated EVERYONE like garbage. In a few words they said: "IT'S ON YOU GIUS, IT'S NOT OUR FAULT, AND THERE'S NOTHING WE CAN DO FOR YOU.", and the people who insisted they THREATENED to call the police on them. GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE.
Then, we all went to Delta, which in theory was the plane that was delayed, but which has a joint venture with Latam. All passengers who missed the flight bought the flight directly with Latam and they redirected us (the first flight) to Delta. Well, we spent more than THREE hours at the airport trying to solve it. Delta provided us with a hotel, meal and 2 lyfts. We left there at midnight.Delta at least treated us better and like human beings. Delta even let our 7 giant suitcases stay in a warehouse until the next day. If not, it would be a giant inconvenience.The flight they put us on was the next day, at 8:00 PM BACK TO ORLANDO (yes, such a joke) and from there we would go to São Paulo. That is, the destination we were already. Our flight to São Paulo would be at 11:50pm. We went to the hotel and on the way the driver told Stan to be careful in that area and not go out at night because it was very dangerous, it was like a flat favela. Then I said: "Don't worry, I'm from Brazil", then he laughed and said he was from Venezuela. Holy shit, for a guy from Venezuela to say that it was dangerous there, it's because it was.When we got there, there were about 5 people ahead of us to check in and we were exhausted, we just wanted to sleep.
When our turn came, your father managed to talk to the person who let us check out at 1 pm at least. In that hotel we were surprised, there were only scary women, with very short clothes, almost naked, and some prostitutes. The lyft guy wasn't lying.But anyway, the room itself was ok, and that's all we wanted: sleep. And the next day we would decide what to do.

The next day arrived. We used our meal ticket to eat at the hotel, and we left around 2 pm. Arriving at the airport, we already checked in and were going to be waiting for the plane for more than 6 hours. What a hell.My dad said: "Why don't you take an Uber with Stan, go to a clothing store and buy another suitcase and a bunch of merchandise to sell? After all, there was a suitcase missing and we didn't have to pay to check it."I was in doubt, at the same time that it was an excellent idea to make money, I really wanted your father to get to know Miami Beach because it is a very beautiful beach, and although your dad had already traveled to several places, he had never been to Miami.But the thought of money spoke louder and I decided to go to the store, but as soon as I got there I already regretted it.I was already feeling bad for choosing money over spending an hour on the beach with ur dad. But, I needed to pay the costs of the trip, besides the uber to Miami Beach was giving U$30 go+30 to return. U$60 to spend 1 hour on the beach didn't seem very fair to me, even more so when I paid and I was already swamped in debt for so many things I bought for myself on this trip. Not to mention the beach was far away. But as soon as we got to the store I regretted it. First, because I also wanted to relax a little and see the beach, and second, because the Burlington store had a queue I'VE NEVER SEEN IN MY LIFE. At least an hour and a half queue. That is, I wouldn't have time to buy things, and stand in line. I was at an impasse to ask for another uber to go to Miami Beach but we came to the conclusion that we might be delayed and there was a possibility of missing the flight (after all, it was a weekday and we would take rush hour on the way back). So missing the flight again was definitely something we couldn't risk. Unless we want to be murdered by your grandfather.So we stayed at Domino's and I ordered the pizza I love most in the world: Crust and thin, garlic sauce, chicken + bacon + barbecue sauce. This pizza for me was perfection.It was mine and your dad's pizza when we lived in San Diego and we always ordered it. I hadn't eaten for 5 years and on this trip alone I ate 4 times. Even though Domino's in Orlando sucks. The one in Miami was infinitely better, and with more helpful attendants. Afterwards, we went back to the airport, checked in the bag, the woman wanted to charge the bag because she said we didn't pay, (see how the guy from the day before didn't know anything and released the bags wrongly?) but your father said we paid and showed the proof of the labels we received the day before, and they released it.The flight this time was not delayed. It was a VERY small plane, with few people and familiar faces from the day before.
Yesterday, passengers gathered and created a Whatsapp group to collectively sue Latam. My father and another lawyer are going to file a lawsuit. Let's hope we get a very nice reward for all we've suffered and it doesn't take too long.
Returning to the plane, the flight was not delayed outside, but when we got on, it took 40 minutes to take off... My father was about to have another heart attack. It seemed like a bad joke of the universe. It wasn't possible.Eventually we took off, in the end everything went well and we arrived on time, BUT, when we arrived at the boarding gate in Orlando > São Paulo, the problem was now "you", love. They couldn't find you on the plane. Even showing the reservations, the previous day's ticket, they simply couldn't find you on the plane, and the headache started.I started to get desperate, your grandfather almost killed everyone and your father had to deal with the situation again.Imagine, your paternal grandparents came from Barcelona to see you and would only stay for a week. They had already been in São Paulo for 3 days waiting for us, and we lost a whole day because we missed the plane the day before. You would spend very little time with your grandparents, just as your father would spend very little time with his parents. We were just devastated by that. Your grandparents came from far away to meet you, they were able to stay for a few days and we were wasting precious time with them due to incompetence after incompetence. If we missed one more day with your grandparents, your father and grandfather would loose it. Your father said he was going to board with you anyway and for them to figure it out.After a lot of stress, I was getting really nervous, almost throwing up, passing out... Your father demanded that the attendant put me in first class for all the stupidity that was taking place. The man even looked on the computer to find a first class seat for me, but the flight was full.Oh, babe... we almost traveled first class. Mom never traveled and honestly I don't know if I'll have money to travel someday. Not only that, but even if I had, I don't know if I would have the courage to spend that kind of money on a little more comfort on the plane.Who knows, maybe one day. But it was so close... So close. And for everything they put us through, it was the least they could do.But finally we got on board, I got really scared because it seemed like everything was going wrong and there's a saying that when things repeatedly go wrong, not to force it, because it's a "warning", so I had that in my head thinking that, maybe, we weren't going to board because the plane would crash lol.But none of that happened. Thank god.