We're Still...Just...Waiting

Hi, everyone! At our monthly "free bagels" breakfast for work, my friend Gazala yelled at me for not updating my blog since July 21. So I am giving into the guilt. Here goes.

We're still just "waiting." It's not really that bad, all the waiting. We are both so busy with stuff. I know that the stuff will go away or change when the baby comes (if one more person tells me that, I swear I'm going to scream! So stop telling me that, kids!). But for now, it's a godsend to be this busy! I am teaching two yoga classes: one at work (that has become quite popular!) and one near my home. I am so enjoying my calling as a yoga teacher. I wish I could do it full time but it wouldn't pay the bills! I also started taking drumming lessons from my dear husband. He has students come on Sunday nights at 7:00, and I'm usually there, so I figured, What the hell? it's been fun, learning the three main hand movements (bass, tone, and slap) of West African drumming! We even put them all together for a little "rhythm" last week! We sounded pretty good! And next weekend, I am FINALLY taking my very first kayaking lesson with a friend of a friend. We are going out on the reservoir, the three of us. I cannot even tell you how excited I am to learn how to kayak! It seems so peaceful and such a great way to see nature--specifically, birds, which I am really into.

Oh, and Jeff and I are traveling for TWO FULL WEEKS to Hawaii to celebrate our 10-year wedding anniversary, my big 4-0 (gulp: enter another decade), and his 42nd. We are traveling to Kauai for a week (my pick, for all the ecotourism and hiking opps) and The Big Island for the second week (his pick, for all the geographic diversity, hiking, and star-gazing opportunities). We will be away Nov 2-16. We are SO EXCITED!

I am currently starting to poke around looking into child care and pediatricians who can review our child's medical file and photo, quickly, once we get the referral, to verify that the child is healthy as stated. We have to find 2 doctors who are willing to be kind of "on call" for that phone call! I know so many people in the area with kids and so many people who have adopted; they are proving to be such a valuable resource!

I think we'll start clearing the room and painting soon. I was going to wait, being kind of superstitious about starting anything like that before we have a specific child matched with us. However, my friend Meg put the fear of God in me today: She said that for their second, Liam, it took only four months from the initial meeting to pickup of their child! Yikes! (If that was us, we would have picked up our child in JUNE, to give you an idea of how short that time was!) She said she had no time to prepare b/c she thought they were settling in for another long wait. Surprise, Surprise!

We do get a monthly email from Catholic Charities, telling us the "monthly Korean update." They never tell us where we are on the list, in terms of number. But they have been getting 1-2 referrals for healthy infants every month (not very many, I know!), and I know that we are among 14 families waiting. I would guess that we are somewhere in the middle of that list. Doing the math, and assuming the worst--that we are fourteenth--Jeff and I are putting us getting a referral at around March or April (basically, sometime in spring 2009). But if we are in the middle of the list, it could be before that. CC refuses to specify. Ugh!

Refreshing your memory: After we accept the referral, we know that we travel 2-4 months later (or so we are told...I don't think this estimate ever changes b/c it's finally something that CC has some control over!). I keep saying that maybe we'll get a Christmas present in the form of a referral! How cool would THAT be?!? I'm putting my energy toward that, these days.

I also just discovered two more families in Olney with kids they adopted from Korea. One family is in our neighborhood, right down the street, but their kids are older: 9-year-old boy and another child they are waiting for a call about. But the other family has a 1.5-year-old, Matthew, and is awaiting Amanda's arrival (infant). They invited me to their adoption cohort monthly playgroup, and I think we may just attend. They said we can meet lots of families with adopted kids from Korea, all very recently adopted, and we can join the group if we'd like! They sound so nice and welcoming!

We went to our monthly parents in progress meeting in September, and we heard from the featured speaker, a pediatrician who specializes in international adoption. His talk was EXCELLENT, and he painted a very, um, realistic picture. (I quote: "The plan ride coming back WILL be hell.") But he has something like 30 years of experience treating adopted kids, and he's so good at what he does and is very well-connected. So, we have him as a resource.

Next month's meeting is "grandparent's night," where all of our parents are invited to come and participate. Parents come from all over the place, and those who come the farthest get a prize. My parents are both coming from PA (four-hour drive for a Tuesday night meeting! God bless mom and dad!), and Jeff's parents are coming, as well (they live in Manassas). Should be fun. Allows CC to brief our folks about what to expect, how the process works, the similarities and differences between having birth grandchildren and adopted grandchildren, and to answer any questions our parents have about the process.

Well, enough said. I just wanted to touch base and say hi b/c it's been so long since I've written anything.

Love and peace to all,
Kathleen