That little ticker up there is getting close to a big big date. Hard to believe we have been at this adoption for such a long time, and we are not even in the home stretch yet. I'm defining the "home stretch" as when we are actually on our pickup trip, or when we learn the dates of our pickup trip, which we don't know yet and don't know when we will know. So mentally, I am just keep on keepin' on.
The good news is that the strike is over. There was a strike earlier this month that lasted just over two weeks, delaying all progress on our case. I am seriously glad it is over, as each day of it felt like a bit of lead in my stomach, just sitting there in the pit of my stomach. Of course, I can't blame people for stopping work when they aren't getting paid, but I just want my baby.
Last week was officially two months since we submitted our dossier and our son's paperwork to court. While we were in country, our attorney had estimated that it would likely be two months until we would get the call for our pickup trip. That clearly has not happened yet. I know from other people it took four months for them to get the call, so I guess we are in that zone of "it could be anyday now" and we could be in that zone for quite a while.
I just re-read the preceding three paragraphs, and the tone sounds like I am angry. I'm really not. I'm not sad either, or depressed, or anything along those lines. I'm still (mostly) in a good place, but the euphoria is (mostly) gone, and I am just pressing ahead every day. I'm not a marathon runner (I just chase kids in the backyard), but maybe this is what "the wall" is like. Maybe not. Maybe I'm not there yet. Maybe I'm still in that middle stretch where it is hard, where it has been hard for a while, but it's not yet as painful as it will be.
How am I getting by each day? Well, it is basically the same recipe each day. I pray, I hope, I trust, and I keep busy. I focus on myself as little as possible, and every day I work hard recalling as many blessings as possible. That always puts me in a good frame of mind. I'm not saying this as "hey check me out, I've got it all figured out." Just that I know there are lots of people reading this that are waiting as well, and I offer that as a helpful hint to take (or not) as you see fit.
God has been really great at giving me lots of little gifts over the last couple months. Really wonderful gifts which have helped me focus on the good, and which have generally been for brief periods of time (so I figure I can do them, or if we get our call to travel before they are completed, I won't miss too much). And most of them have been free, which is definitely good for the pocketbook right about now, and made it possible for me to sign up for them. One of those little gifts was a course on St. John's Gospel, which I really enjoyed. It was self-directed, so I could use a schedule that worked for me, and I ended up completing it early. But before I had completed it, my parish had started a Bible Study on 1 and 2 Peter. Really great stuff, and because both letters are very short, the study is not very long. It ends next week, as a matter of fact. But, I also heard about an online course through Hillsdale College on Western Heritage, that is absolutely fascinating. We are entering the third week, and I am learning all sorts of things I wish I had studied in college, but then again, I don't think I would have appreciated it then like I do now. It is really wonderful, and I look forward to each lecture. Can't wait till the new one shows up on the website later today! The Greek Miracle, I think it is called. Should be incredibly interesting. We are also doing a ten-week DVD series at our parish entitled Catholicism, by Fr. Robert Barron, that is breathtakingly beautiful and wonderful. Again, it is not too long and is free. We're starting week three, and if I am around for the whole thing, I'll learn a whole lot, but if we get called to travel before it is over, none of my time would be wasted. And finally, there is a Life in the Spirit Seminar, seven weeks long, and we're in week three for that as well, and it has been nice to participate in that as well.
There have been various events and get-togethers too for us to have fun as a family, and as long as it is ok to rsvp just a week or less in advance, that has been working out well too. For example, we had a Cub Scout campout this weekend. It was great great fun, and we could literally decide to go or not at the last minute. In fact, we weren't sure we were going to spend the night until that very day, because the weather prediction was for nighttime lows of about 32 degrees, and we wanted to make sure we could get some decent sleeping bags before we committed. We did, and had a great time. And I think the boys will earn their "freeze out" badges for camping in weather that cold! Even I feel like it was a big accomplishment. We wore lots of layers of warm clothes, had good sleeping bags, and used air mattresses to get our bodies off that very cold ground. The boys slept through the whole night with no problems at all, and in fact were warm enough they didn't even wear hats or mittens to sleep. I did, but I am the cold one of the family. Anyway, it was a ton of fun, the boys played for hours in the woods with their fellow scouts, and I am really happy that we were able to do it. Plus, is there anything better than hot dogs and s'mores made over an open fire? Of course, had we been in Honduras and missed the whole trip, I don't think any of us would have complained, but in that we were here, it was a great thing to do.
So, that's about it for me for now. Thank you for your prayers, for us and for our little adorable sweetheart (who I hope remembers us), and best wishes for you in your keep on keepin' on too!