Thursday, January 6, 2011

The Roller Coaster

I have put off this blog post for too long now. It's not because we don't have any news. It's because it's not the news we want to share. I want to write that we have passed court, that our embassy appointment has been scheduled, and we are booking tickets to bring our son home. However, we have not passed court and are scheduled for court date #8 on January 10. It all has to do with missing paperwork, overbooked court dates, and a last minute vacation by the judge. Blah, blah, blah.

It is very boring news to report. The experience, however, is a bit of a roller coaster. While court is taking place in Ethiopia on the other side of the world, we are sound asleep - or at least we should be! The night of each court date, I wake multiple times wondering if our case has been reviewed yet. Once I've decided enough is enough, I get out of bed, make the coffee, and start waiting for the phone to ring. I pace around the house making nervous conversation - usually with myself - and constantly glance at the clock. I take breaks every five minutes and search Facebook for updates from other adoption families who are also waiting on news. This is my routine on court day.  Eventually, a call from the 703 area code shows up on caller ID. Each time I blurt out an obnoxious "Hello!!" in hopes that my enthusiasm will have some influence on the news I am about to receive. Obviously, every call so far has been a let down and I have recently started having visions of someday sending our son care packages full of deodorant, shaving cream, and beef jerky.

With a little effort, the disappointment is short-lived. I remind myself that many people have said many prayers over this adoption.  I remind myself that we have put this adoption in God's hands and that we should enjoy the ride.  We refocus on the prize and put a new date on the calendar to look forward to, knowing that a successful court date could be right around the corner.   The anticipation, though, is unavoidable.  After all, there are only 5,760 minutes until our next court date.