Second That Emotion

This post is dedicated to my mom who mentioned to me that she is sad sometimes after reading my posts.  I do not wish any sadness on my readers. There have been so many emotions swirling around during this journey, but sadness is not one of them for me.  So I hope everyone can share in the many emotions I've had, and push any sadness you may feel away for another day. This blog is a way to capture my feelings and memories during this the first part of our journey, yet I know it may evoke other emotions for you the reader.

Swirlings of being Anxious, Appreciative, Bewildered, Concerned, Confused, Curious, Discouraged, Disconnected, Eager, Excited, Fortunate,  Frustrated, Grateful, Impatient, Irritated, Nervous, Optimistic, and Uncertain to name a few for me.

Reflecting on this conversation with my mom was a great reminder that I want to savor every moment with no regrets of sadness. As well, I wish this upon all of my family and friends following our journey. How can I be sad when I know one day our phone will ring and our lives will be changed forever....bringing us the opportunity to become Umma (mom) and Appa (dad) to a little one that will be our perfect match!  

Man is the only creature whose emotions are entangled with his memory. - M Holmes

Hearts & Hurdles

I woke up this morning heart all a flutter.  Not sure if it was from the dreams I was having or because I knew something special happened last night while I was sleeping.  So I promptly logged onto Facebook and my blog reader to see if anything had been shared yet about "Gotcha Day."  No posts yet.  Though silly me, what was I thinking?  If you just received custody of your little one after 22 months of waiting you'd be out celebrating and devoting all of your attention to this little bundle of joy that just became part of your Forever Family.  For those of you that are not familiar with "Gotcha Day," this is the day that all adoptive families dream about and celebrate for years to come.  It's the day when you take custody of your little one.    

So I proceeded to post my own status update on Facebook which read, "I am so excited today for our first 2 Forever Families of 2012!  Today their little boys are with them now and forever!!"  It has been such a treat over the last 5 months to follow along with a number of  families waiting to travel and pick up their little ones.  Finally travel calls started last week and now on Friday, April 6 at 2:30 am S. Korea time (12:30 am our time) our first two families picked up their little boys.  There are many more "Gotcha Days" to come in the next few weeks, and I can't wait to read all about them and have my heart flutter again.  Sorry ladies, I will be stalking Facebook and your blogs : )

So selfishly my mind has now moved back to our our personal journey and the many hurdles that have been overcome which in my mind leave no reason why referrals shouldn't start back up ASAP.  Nothing has ever been officially stated to us, but through discussions and speculation the following hurdles have been presented and overcome...

• We've waited for a new year and hopefully a fresh batch of referrals to start rolling, which occurred on Jan 1.
• We've waited for EP's to start being submitted, which they did on Mar 5.
• We've waited for EP's to start being approved, which they did on Mar 23.
• We've waited for travel calls to start, which they did on Mar 29.
• We've waited for families to take custody of their little ones, which they did today, April 6.

I really hope meeting all of these milestones puts referrals back on track and in the fore front of our S. Korean agency's mind.  If it doesn't please, please, please give us an explanation why the little ones must continue to wait to be matched with their Forever Families?  

Love recognizes no barriers.  It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at it destination full of hope. - M Angelou