I’ve written so many posts over the last month but haven’t published any of them. I do that sometimes though. Just write things to write them, get them out of me as a way to process feelings and LIFE. There has been a lot to process lately. And in the midst of multiple questions from friends and family about our adoption, I guess it’s finally time to push “publish” on one of these though, and let y’all into our world.
A few weeks after we were matched with little girl Miller, Chinese New Year hit and in the midst of those celebrations, we all know what happened with Coronavirus. It wasn’t long before our adoption agency sent out an email stating that adoption travel has been put on hold indefinitely. At that point we naively had some ideas that within a month or two it would be contained to China and from there we would be cleared to travel, close to our original projected date of May. The next word we received a few weeks later was that while there was still no end in site for the virus, the Chinese agency in charge of adoptions was still processing paperwork and proceeding as normal. That was a huge relief for us since we were(are) still in the paperwork stage and hadn’t begun any travel planning.
We are still in the paperwork stage and continue to march forward. But with the word “pandemic” being thrown around now, we really have no idea when we will get pick-up our little lady. We don’t know when they’ll re-open travel to China. And when they do, how difficult (and expensive) will it be to get flights and book plans? I was contacted by our adoption agency last week so they could obtain permission from us to feature our girl as having found her forever family. So we know a newsletter is coming soon and we look forward to whatever it has to tell us, but we anticipate they don’t have anything to say about travel to China since it looks like Coronavirus is just starting to pick-up steam across the globe.
Our daughter has a “mostly repaired” heart condition, which would put her in a higher risk category for things like the Coronavirus. But most of the children in orphanages have special medical needs, so they’re all at some elevated level of risk. Our daughter’s province is about 10 hours from Wuhan so she’s not in the epicenter of the virus. We have been told that so far none of the children in our adoption agency’s care have contracted the virus and also that China is taking the care of its orphan’s health very seriously in the midst of this epidemic.
There are times when I feel a crushing weight of frustration and disappointment (guys, I’m not getting any younger!)… and I won’t lie to you, there are moments of fear. I’m continually stopping throughout my day to say a prayer and to re-capture the fear that’s trying to creep into my mind. It’s truly amazing how quick you fall in love with a little face and voice from a couple of videos and I think of her all the time. She’s already my little girl and I want to go scoop her up into my arms and get her home ASAP.
This journey that Dave and I are on to start a family has never felt easy. Far from it. And the older I become, the more truth I find to the whole “anything worth having didn’t come easy” adage. Which is what makes me believe that what’s in store for us… guys, it’s gonna be good. So, so good. We are so excited to be on this journey, regardless of the challenges we’ve faced. I feel infinitely stronger and more empathetic from this process and I’m not mad about anything that makes me a more well-rounded person – but I am so very ready to be a mama.
I’m a big subscriber to “the obstacle is the way” theory that encourages us to see obstacles as opportunities for creativity and growth. So I am using this extra time and obstacle to really get into my business systems, work on optimizing more things within my day and even a couple new business ventures Dave and I have been mulling over lately. I’ve got about 15 home projects in the works, a couple crafts, and our little girl’s bedroom makeover. It’s also the perfect time to start digging into my own fear and emotion based responses and learning to operate with more faith.
I have faith that our little girl is happy, healthy and safe. Please think of her in your prayers, we’d love to know she’s being surrounded by the prayers of our friends and family.
Much love,
Stacey