Tuesday, February 20th, 2007 it is, in a week where there will be no news what-so-ever about our adoption. You see, Chinese New Year , a huge celebration ~ was 2 days ago (2/18/2007), and all offices in China are closed for this entire week.
Nonetheless~ today was a treasure!
I had the honor of spending the morning with two dear friends who each have adopted their own daughters from China, and just being in their presence allowed me the opportunity to forget, or rather not focus on the incredible length of time we have endured through this
adoption process. These days, it seems that I can spend so much time focusing on how 'LONG' the wait is/has been rather than keeping my 'eyes' focused on the 'why' of the wait. And as you can see from this adorable picture, it didn't take long to be reminded of the "why" I am waiting for.
In a few short days, we can officially say we've been waiting 13 months to receive our referral. Our agency currently says we can expect to wait 17-18months from LID, so another 5 (or maybe more) more to go. You know, when we started this process our anticipation, or rather hope, was that we'd receive a referral in 6 (or so) months. Information quickly changed with each month that went by that the wait was extending and that they couldn't forecast exactly what was going to take place, but that it was just going to get longer. We never expected at that point that we'd be waiting more than a year to receive word about our daughter. And it's funny, because even the mom of this beautiful little girl waited 14 months from LID to referral and I asked (wanting to glean all the information I could from those who are already 'experienced' at it) if with the extended length of time did she do more things, save more money, read more books about adoption? No. I guess I'm in the same boat. I suppose not knowing up front the wait was going to be this long might have something to do with it too. But, I will say I think the best thing I could have been told was the moment at which you receive the call & picture of your sweet daughter, it's almost surreal in that you don't remember the wait being long at all - almost as if it didn't exist. I long for that!
And for now, I will continue to wait...
New Years Day - Monday at the Jacksonville Zoo!
3 months ago
2 comments:
Hi. I'm glad you are feeling better. What an adorable little girl your friends have! I'm sure they think she was "worth the wait" and I know you will think the same of your darling daughter when you get her. My sister said the same thing: Once she got the call and the referral pics, the agony of the past 15 months disappeared.
Just think, if the projected timeline to referral is five (maybe six) more wait months is accurate, and the babies are received, on average, when they are around 9-10 months old (about 2 months after referral, then Abigail is probably between 2-3 months old right now.
Do you remember when your sons were 2-3 months old? Do you remember the sleep deprivation and all the other exhausting stuff that comes with newborns????
Console yourself during the wait that someone else is having to deal with those things, and that you will get her when she has started to develop a personality and will be able to interact with you.
Above all, focus on the fact that God has specifically created the exact child He wants you to have, and that you will get her when He determines the time is right. (I know, He moves glacially slow some times!!!!)
There really is a magic to the matching process. Although all the babies in our group were darling, NONE of them would have fit into my sister's family the way KatieBug does. It will be the same with you. Your daughter will be THE one that fits with your family.
In the mean time, you have all those blogs out there in blogger land to read and to learn from and get ideas from, and time to plan the perfect nursery and get everything done without having to race the clock against labor and without the fatigue the in-utero aliens cause!!
(I know, I know, easy for me to say, I'm not the one waiting. True, but I DID have to listen to my sister complain and worry and vent for months!)
She is so adorable!!! How fun to spend a morning with them! I know that wait is getting tough...I just keep thinking, "this is the month for a speed up".
How's the quilt going? I still haven't started Grace's yet but I know I should.
Let's try to get together soon!
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