Driving and Waiting

People often call the adoption process a “paper pregnancy.”

In our case, I don’t think I can call it that.  The only piece of paper we are required to fill out is one side of one sheet.  Ever.  For the whole process.  (Well, unless the U.S. embassy denies your child’s visa and requires the I-600.  Then you kill a dozen trees filling out paperwork.)

So not a paper pregnancy.  Maybe a “driving pregnancy.”  A “waiting in traffic” pregnancy.  A “nicely-nagging-social workers-to-do-their-job” pregnancy. 

Whatever.  Anyway, regardless, considering that it is likely we will get a baby in less than nine months, you can consider me pregnant. 

The good news is that I finally got some answers, after lots of driving and sitting in traffic and nagging and waiting.  I finally talked to the head honcho of social welfare myself, and he confirmed that yes, it would be possible to adopt a third child.  Even though the social worker (non-head honcho) insisted that it had never been done and don’t I have enough children already?  But even she grudgingly agreed that there was no law limiting the number of children that can be adopted, and then the head honcho guy confirmed that.  Very good news. 

The bad news is that he also told me that we would have to start over again in the process.  And do everything all over again.  Honestly, this is what I was expecting to hear, but I still had this tiny little hope that he would say, “Hey, we’ve already interviewed everyone who knows you, done four homestudies and have a file stuffed with information about you, why do it all over again?  In fact, why not just hop on down to the orphanage and take home another couple children today?”  But he didn’t say that. 

So we have started over again.  Yesterday Gil and I went to get interviewed.  Again.  And told her the exact same information, again, that we did the previous two times.  And today I drove to town, picked up my friend Kathy, took her to the social worker, waited there with her for two hours, waited while she got interviewed about us, took her home, and then drove home myself in two hours of traffic.  On Monday I’ll take two more friends down to get interviewed.  See what I mean about my driving-and-waiting-in-traffic pregnancy?  But it’s probably still not as bad as morning sickness. 

While I was waiting with Kathy, some friends came in who had just received their letter that told them which child they were to receive.  They had come to pick up the social worker to go to the orphanage with them to go meet their little girl.  I was so thrilled for them! Yes, Yes!  I remember getting that letter.  Makes all the driving and waiting worth it.