A Couple of Dangling Carrots

I’ve always been a chronic email checker, but when awaiting news that another step in the adoption process has been approved, this obsession takes on a new life. At least for awhile, after weeks and months go by, the urge to check one more time sort of fades. Those ads to encourage purchasing life insurance, or refill my ink cartridges for a bargain, or sell me the latest and greatest coffee maker can wait.

Then one day “ping” you see a message sent from your adoption representative and your heart flutters up into your throat. The scene is always the same. Open it and skim it looking for the highlights —good news or bad news. Then starting over and drinking in every word, read it again. Then you read it a third time, this time trying to read between the lines and figure out how the new information fits into the sliding time line you have going on in your head about how this adoption is going to play out. Close the email, wait a few minutes and then go through the same procedure again. This time, you conclude by hitting the forward button and type out all of your unorganized thoughts of euphoria and panic about this email and send it to your husband—your voice of reason—and wait for his reply.

What a Tuesday morning this week. The message was that CARA will not grant our NOC without 7 more documents. On the third reading of the email, I realize that by asking for more, they are considering a YES, and are not giving us an outright NO. Wonderful!

Then it sets in....7 more documents ASAP. Really? It happens they are all ones that have been sent before. This is good news, as I can reprint most of them easily and have them notarized but, there is still a doctor’s note from Devi’s pediatrician required and Pat and I have to be tested, yet again, for HIV. These items require planning, appointments, all taking up valuable minutes, when all I can think of is getting these papers in the mail immediately. Coming to my senses, Pat and I devise a plan to tick each task off the list. These are merely hoops and I am willing to jump as high as they want at this point.

Devi's updated letter to her sister.

It is a picture of Shir Khan Lake (round blue lake surrounded by lions and one monkey), because the Jungle Book took place in India. Her personal sentiment is her name beside two hearts, a smiley face and the word Love. I think that says it all!

Today we will complete their final request - the HIV test. Rather than going through our doctor’s office which requires a copay and takes a week to get results, we are going to a clinic where I plan on bringing my own stash of sanitary wipes to clean any surface I may come in contact with. Guaranteed printed out results in 20 minutes is really all I care about at this point.

Much to my surprise during my email exchange with our representative we received this news about our sugar plum from the representative who is in India now....

She is doing well. She is still very shy—when you talk to her, she closes her eyes and pretends you’re not there.:) She is walking really well and doesn’t cry anymore. She plays ball with her caretaker and smiles while she does that. Her fingers and toes look a lot better than last time since she has had her surgery. She seems to be using them well.

With a full heart and a head in the clouds, we will hopefully hit the post office tomorrow to send off this set of papers. The final set? We hope so. With these latest dangling carrots still hanging fresh in front of our noses, I begin my email obsession....awaiting photos from this latest visit :)