There’s a sucker born every minute?
Is it truly ridiculous to buy cute burp cloths? Etsy has the sweetest little ones, but people (you know who you are) have told me that it’s idiotic to use anything other than plain old cloth diapers. Is that really what everyone does? I’ve gotta say, I think Oscar’s spit up deserves better.
All I want for Christmas
You know, for me, so this obviously assumes that we’re already getting peace on Earth, goodwill to (wo)men. . .
- My I-600 paperwork sent to me, signed and filed
- Updated photos (I know our agency’s VN staff was at the orphanage this week, so I’m hopeful I’ll see a new one; last time I received one was over 2 months ago (probably like almost everyone else out there with a referral))
- The ability to pronounce something in the Vietnamese language – truly, it’s so much harder than I ever imagined; I can recognize words and identify objects (specifically, a boy, girl, man, woman, car, ball, airplane, elephant and a horse – pretty good, huh?), but I just don’t think I’m going to be able to say anything of substance ever. Got to say, though, I’m liking Rosetta Stone, although it would be better with a dictionary so I wouldn’t have to learn everything in context
- The ability to ignore my obsession with waiting for news, to stop checking my BlackBerry every two minutes for an update from my case manager or photos
- Perhaps an estimate of when I might get to travel (a month would be great; I know this isn’t possible, since the agency apparently hasn’t received all of the docs needed for my I-600, but this is my list)
- A referral for Missy/Zeke’s mom to be; I don’t actually know her, but she’s with my agency and seems quite nice, so in the spirit of Christmas and all. . .
- All of my obsessive fears about the baby allayed (that there is heat and enough warm clothes at his orphanage, the babies aren’t all sick and that I’ll get to take him out of there before too long and that there won’t be any ill-effects of his extended stay in the orphanage (he’s going to be at least 8 months old, so I’m obviously concerned with attachment problems, etc., which could occur anyway, but you know what I’m thinking))
- A kick in the backside to incentivize me to clean my closets, get organized, work out more (or at all) and to pre-cook and freeze some meals for whenever I get to go and return home
- I-600 approvals for everyone at my agency (what the heck, at any agency) who has already filed, followed by a speedy G&R
Merry Christmas!
The most boring blog in the world
I feel I should apologize to those of you who continue to drop by here. I’m kind of at a lull in this adoption. I feel like my life is sort of on hold (aside from my career, which is taking a huge step into positive territory, I’m leading a multi-billion dollar deal for the first time) until I file my I-600. Why? I have no idea. I think I had set an internal goal of being in Vietnam right after Christmas, and now it’s clear that not only is that not going to occur, but getting to Vietnam before Tet is going to be difficult. So, like many others, the six-month old baby I imagined is going to be more like eight or nine months, which is fine, it’s just a bit depressing. I now understand why the BTDT parents say that the wait between referral and travel is the absolute worst. It is, and it seems interminable right now.
I’m trying to be productive, I just finished my first two Vietnamese lessons (Rosetta Stone, still trying to decide whether I’m going to love it or hate it). I can identify the words for boy, girl, ball, cat and airplane, so that’s not too bad for the first day. I’d like to haul myself to the gym, but I keep ignoring that voice in my head.
This part of the process sucks for everyone, right? I mean, if it can dampen my Christmas spirit, it’s got to be pretty bad.
Malaria
Do people actually take malaria meds while they’re in Vietnam? I know that HCMC and Hanoi are considered to be safe, and that the CDC recommends medication if you’re going to be in “rural” areas. Since, generally, PAPs spend most of their time in malaria-free zones, with the exception of the time spent getting to and from and during their G&R’s, do people just risk it? I’ve either had or am getting the other recommended vaccinations, but wondered about malaria. This wondering, of course, has nothing to do with news of an impending travel date (far from it – still no I-600 to file). Just trying to think of something other than the fact that I’m not going to be in VN anytime soon.
Guilt-free time-waster
So, I’m on a conference call trying desperately to find something worthwhile to do as my colleagues go about planning a terribly boring seminar and I happen upon a website that fits my needs perfectly. It’s called Free Rice, and it is a vocabulary test where for every correct answer, an advertiser donates 20 grains of rice to the UN. Yes, you’re right, 20 grains of rice really isn’t all that much, but think about how much rice that is if it’s aggregated. It’s a lot. Within my 15 minute call, I had accumulated 2000 grains, which I thought was cool. Take a look if you like. http://www.freerice.com/index.php. I made it to level 50, but quickly regressed to level 48. Now, back to work.
Disjointed Weirditude
So, I’ve been a bit uneasy about my referral ever since I received it. I got the call during the NOID crisis and before the new I-600 process was announced, so, obviously, that tainted my experience a bit. I’ve had all of the usual euphoric feelings that I imagine we all have, but when those subsided, I was left with this feeling, a detachment, that I couldn’t really comprehend. At first, I thought I was concerned with whether the baby’s first mother was coerced in any way (or, even worse, if she has no idea whether the baby is going to be adopted internationally). I don’t think that that was the root of the detachment. I think I get it now, though. I’m concerned that the baby in the picture isn’t going to be my child. I don’t for a second think that my agency has engaged in anything other than the most ethical behavior. I think I’m just concerned that until I get through the I-600 process (which, for me, has not even started), I can’t take anything for granted. I know that I will adopt a child at the end of this process, but I’m just not sure that it’s going to be the little boy whose picture is on my refrigerator. Not so much a feeling I want to be experiencing. I’ve read a lot of blogs, and I haven’t seen anyone mention this. I take that to mean that either I’m some sort of monster, or others don’t write about this.
Weird thing #2, I found out today that “my” baby (see, I won’t even type it yet) has the same name as my ex-husband. This is actually extremely strange, since they share an extremely uncommon name. What does that mean?
While writing this, I’ve found out that the first approvals under the I-600 process were received early this morning. Congratulations to those of you who received fantastic news this morning from the USCIS! (as if you’re reading blogs when some of you are traveling on Thursday!). I guess I get to wrap this up on a high note.
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Etta’s Hats
Where I’ve Been
