Noelle Dreams & Beyond

Along with thousands of other China adoptive parents, Chris and I are anxiously awaiting the next referrals to be announced any day now. Based on recent months and internet rumors, we don't have high hopes that the CCAA will make much progress in terms of the timeline. We'll likely see the timeline lengthen yet again. Last month it reached 18 months (period from dossier log-in at CCAA, i.e. LID, to official notification of family-child match from CCAA, i.e. referral), and it might get to 19 months this time around. If this trend continues (we pray it won't!), it will be 2009 before we finally meet Noelle. Regardless, we'll keep truckin' along. The timing of the following email I received today couldn't be more perfect. It's for us all. (written by a Unity minister) ***It can be that the troubles you go through in life are for the benefit of others. In some sense, you are a model for others. You are a model even when you are not a good example. However ...

Ok, I have to get on my soapbox for a moment. This weekend I attended a friend's wedding and of course got lots of questions and comments about the adoption. I appreciated all of this for the most part...until MONEY came up. What is the deal with people asking if it costs a lot of money to adopt (and sometimes asking how much)? We get this question more often than I care to say from people we know as well as from people we don't know! I realize that most people are simply making conversation. I just don't know why this has become the "How's the weather?" question to ask when making adoption small talk. I never know what to say. Yes, it's a lot of money. But it costs a lot of money to be pregnant and birth a baby these days, too. Nobody talks about that. The difference is that insurance doesn't cover the costs of adoption; however, there is an adoption tax credit, which helps. I'd like to add that it also costs of lot of money to buy a car ...

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers throughout the world!!! To birth mothers and adoptive mothers and foster mothers and surrogate mothers and mothers-to-be and brand new mothers and step-mothers and grandmothers and great-grandmothers and mothers-in-law... And especially to my fellow waiting adoptive mothers. Peace and joy to all, Kathryn