Thank you Greensboro for being Our Home. Thank you for the Love, Support, Companionship you have given me in the most difficult weeks of my life. Thank you for being our neighbor, friend and co-worker. Most of all, Thank You Greensboro for Loving Emily!
Emily and myself came to Greensboro at the end of January 2005, when she was only two. We came from Italy knowing one person. In almost four years, we have grown to love this city and become an integral part of the community.
When I moved here, my wish for my daughter was to provide her with a Happy and Stable Environment. Here, she learned to be confident, make friends and establish friendships, speak in complete sentences and use complicated words, distinguish right from left, ride a bicycle, twist her teeth out of her mouth, read, swim, go to school, do her homework, ride horses, but most importantly, BE Emily. This wouldn't have been possible without You, so Thank You.
Last time I saw Emily in the US was at 10 am, September 25, 2008 at the Guildford Courthouse in Greensboro. The day before, I had been subpoenaed to bring her to Court with her travel documents, since her father, a French citizen living in Italy, had just registered a 2½ yr-old Italian order, giving him full and exclusive custody over Emily, and was requesting its immediate execution.
Emily came to Court excited, because many of our friends were there to give support and bear witness to how she had touched their lives. As people arrived to the courtroom, Emily noticed that everyone had "We Love Emily" stickers on them. Emily asked if she could have a sticker, since "I Love Emily too," she said.
Emily is now in Italy. When I speak to her, she talks to me about her Home in Greensboro. Last Saturday on the phone, she reminded me that Monday was "Maia's Birthday." Emily remembers everyone's Birthday. She asked me to send Maia an email wishing her a Happy Birthday, "but tell her that on October 6th I turned six and a half". Maia just turned six on Monday.
She recently told me: "Next time I go to Court I won't be excited." I understand her.
Emily and myself came to Greensboro at the end of January 2005, when she was only two. We came from Italy knowing one person. In almost four years, we have grown to love this city and become an integral part of the community.
When I moved here, my wish for my daughter was to provide her with a Happy and Stable Environment. Here, she learned to be confident, make friends and establish friendships, speak in complete sentences and use complicated words, distinguish right from left, ride a bicycle, twist her teeth out of her mouth, read, swim, go to school, do her homework, ride horses, but most importantly, BE Emily. This wouldn't have been possible without You, so Thank You.
Last time I saw Emily in the US was at 10 am, September 25, 2008 at the Guildford Courthouse in Greensboro. The day before, I had been subpoenaed to bring her to Court with her travel documents, since her father, a French citizen living in Italy, had just registered a 2½ yr-old Italian order, giving him full and exclusive custody over Emily, and was requesting its immediate execution.
Emily came to Court excited, because many of our friends were there to give support and bear witness to how she had touched their lives. As people arrived to the courtroom, Emily noticed that everyone had "We Love Emily" stickers on them. Emily asked if she could have a sticker, since "I Love Emily too," she said.
Emily is now in Italy. When I speak to her, she talks to me about her Home in Greensboro. Last Saturday on the phone, she reminded me that Monday was "Maia's Birthday." Emily remembers everyone's Birthday. She asked me to send Maia an email wishing her a Happy Birthday, "but tell her that on October 6th I turned six and a half". Maia just turned six on Monday.
She recently told me: "Next time I go to Court I won't be excited." I understand her.
