::taps fingers impatiently:: I am a very patient person, considering I'm second grade teacher. I guess my patience is only applicable to certain situations, because waiting for these agencies is driving me crazy! I sent all the applications out on September 20. I thought my first emotion would be excitement, but honestly as soon as I put the boxes in the mail receptacle I was filled with fear. I'm not afraid of taking care of a baby. I can't wait for DH and I to be parents. I'm just afraid of everything that may come up during the adoption process. The birth mother may change her mind, we may be matched in a situation that ends up being over our budget, we have to wait 6 months to finalize once we get back to Ohio, etc., etc., etc. So many hurdles along the way.
Just like I thought the home study process would never end, I really feel like the matching process will never begin. I mailed everything September 20. The agencies received them September 23 (not that I checked the USPS website like a crazy person or anything), and on September 26 I was contacted by all 3 agencies. They all need official copies of our background checks and child abuse clearances. Stupid me, I thought that was included in the home study. It is referenced in the home study that we are clear and those were completed, but I had to call our home study agency to get the actual documents. More waiting. So I received the documents October 1, then mailed them to the agencies Oct 2. They received them Oct 5. Again, not that I checked the USPS website like a crazy person. So now I'm just waiting for the agencies to contact me again to say we are active. All 3 said everything was in order except these missing documents. Umm, it's Oct 7. Don't these people know how hard it is to wait?? (honestly I know they are busy and I'm not number one on their list, but wouldn't it be nice if I were?)
We did have a conference call with the attorney in Florida we are signed up with. He doesn't do that many adoptions each year, so theoretically our wait time with him will be much longer. However, if we match with him it will end up costing less than $15k. Also, traveling to Florida sounds so much better than traveling to Utah. So I sent him our profile on Oct 4, delivery confirmed Oct 6. We should be active with him by next week.
So here we go. The waiting game is just beginning, because once we are active we have to wait for a match. Once we are matched we have to wait for a birth. After the birth we have to wait for the birth mother to sign. After that we have to wait 6 months to finalize.
Did I mention we wanted a baby like, years ago?????
Oh yeah. It's pretty bad, it's been tougher than I could imagine. I really feel like once we get our "to-do list" done for adoption there is NOTHING to do for awhile except wait, and it's like you go into freefall. It's so weird to feel so out of control of something so important. At least, that's been my take on it so far!! It's a wait on top of an already heavy heart...
ReplyDeletePs- do you have the invite to my private blog? I can't remember. Seriously, if you read it, you will be in GOOD company. You are most welcome. If you don't have access, email me at jesstutt (at) gmail (dot) com
ReplyDeleteI can't even imagine how frustrating this process is. For someone who deserves to be a parent right away, it's hard to just sit and wait, and have your fate controlled by agencies. Do they have an approximation as to how long this could take?? Hang in there sweetie. This is going to happen. And when you're matched to your baby, you'll understand why you had to wait...
ReplyDeletebecause you were meant for that exact child. xo
The wait sounds so nerve-wracking and frustrating! I'd imagine that having things to do in *your* control, like with all the paperwork and homestudy, was nice in the sense that you were at least in control of when and how they happened, not just the unknown waiting game. I hope your wait isn't too long, friend.
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