I Dream of Adoption

Really, I do. Every night I dream vividly, in color, and I clearly remember them each morning. Lately, my dreams have been peppered with adoption references - sometimes metaphoric and sometimes crystal clear.

Last night, I dreamt that I received an email from our case manager that said: "Your expected date to receive a referral is approximately August 1st, 2009." Strange. Hopefully it's sooner.

The night before, I dreamt we were adopting two little girls, and in the dream we didn't know if they were Vietnamese or Korean. But they were 3 and 5 years old. I met the birthmom, who fell apart crying in my arms and a bunch of us prayed with her, and hugged her. The mom also passed me a note that said "You have a lovely home, but I don't feel a peace about you adopting the girls." Nice.

It's funny how the theme of adoption is just present in all levels of my consciousness... awake or not.

Moving On Up...

We are slowly but surely moving our way up the wait list. We started at #6 for siblings, and #12 for an infant girl (on Feb. 18th) and as of today (April 2nd) we are #3 for siblings, and #8 for an infant girl. At this rate I'm guessing May or June for a referral?

There is so much to do in the meantime... books to read, adoption groups to join, thank you notes to send, photo sessions to finish editing... but it still feels like a "wait". Which is frustrating given the number of orphans in Ethiopia who need a loving home immediately. I guess that's what red tape and bureaucracy do to the international adoption process... along with providing a reliable and safe system where kids don't get mistreated. I guess I'd prefer the wait over the knowledge that the system is corrupt.

Now I'm off to cruise through amazon.com for a good book on taking care of black skin and hair! Apparently there's a whole other world out there on the other side of the Walgreens aisle. Here I come...!