Week 9

I get to cross off another number on my calendar! 9 weeks of waiting. I am nervous for the court closures. For those of you that do not know about that it is a 6 week (or so) period in Ethiopia where the courts shut down, due to the rainy season I am told. I feel like things are coming to a halt. It's very uplifting to see referrals happening, and when that is gone, I think all of us waiting will be on edge.

When we started this process we thought for sure we'd have a baby by the end of the summer, what "they" forgot to tell us was that the courts close down for 6 weeks. I have been told that referrals can still be made, just none of the paperwork can be processed. I have tried to mentally prepare myself for longer and longer wait times. When we first sat in the social worker's office to discuss adoption, she told us that the first Ethiopian adoption that she did took (from decision to adopt to baby home) 3 months! That's what I was sure would be our story, little did I know what was going on behind the scenes: more and more people being added to the waiting list on every adoption agency's list.

I know I didn't drag my heels getting anything done, and most of the time was waiting for paperwork at the mercy of others. But, as it turns out, people that have been waiting since Dec. 2005 are still waiting, so nothing really would have changed if we would had made the decision any sooner.

Ask any adopting parent how the wait is, whether it's 2 months or 2 years, the answer will always be: EXCRUCIATING! So the beginning of this week I am feeling a little on edge about all of it. I wish I had Anne's Emote-o-meter!