Hellobee

I know, I know… I’m the blogger with all the crazy analogies to this adoption process. First the Roller Coaster and now this. I hope, for all our sakes, that I need no more analogies for this process!

I’ve been trying to figure out how to write an update on where we are in the process with Son #2. And… It’s really, really hard!

Why?! In part, because I don’t want to bore you with all the details and steps involved in an international adoption these days. It boils down to lots of hoops and government agencies and waiting. Lots and lots of waiting. Also, we are in an ever-changing process. There are new rules, new laws, and new steps involved. So we are just kind of following along as best we can…. and I’m not yet in a position where I feel like I “get it” enough to write about it. Lastly, sometimes it’s easier to sit and wait patiently when you don’t focus on what you are waiting for. (Kind of along the lines of a “watched pot never boils” …but not really. Since this is, you know, life.)

But, the other day I realized that this does remind me a lot of running a race. A very, very long race. A marathon if you will. And hey, they don’t call a 26.3-mile race a marathon for nothing. Well… this is my marathon to my kiddo, with the referral call being the starting gun.

Just like any race, we started this journey with lots of nerves, excitement, and anticipation. In the beginning there was so much to do. Share our news with friends and family. Fill out piles (and piles!) of paperwork. Fill out government forms. Start planning for life as four. The first few months flew by… just like the first few miles of a race with a flat route, pretty scenery, and good beats to keep you going.

Then we hit that part of the race where you look at the mile markers and think, “That’s it?! That’s all I’ve covered?!” I would look at the calendar and think the same thing. Just when I thought I could go no farther, good news would come. We received photos from our son’s first birthday. We received notification that we were submitted to the Korean government for emigration approval. Any runner knows that there are certain points of a race where the sight of a water stand, or a “gu” station, is a saving grace. It’s what makes you keep putting one foot in front of another. These little updates were our water and “gu.” It was the fuel we needed to sustain this in our journey from referral to travel.

It’s been 6 and a half months since we received our referral for our son. Half a year. On one hand… that feels like a really, really long time. On the other hand… it feels like a blink of an eye. We knew that we would be waiting at least six months for travel, so really… it’s been ok. (Well, as ok as it can be when a piece of your heart resides in another country.) Some days it feels like I’m kicking asphalt and miles are flying by. Other days it feels like I’ve just run 18 miles of the marathon, my legs are like lead weights, and there are no water stands or gu stations in sight. I’m wondering why I ever thought this was a good idea.

And then I think, we’re six months down! We’re entering the window where stuff is going to start happening. Six months down, and I don’t know how many more to go. I think it’s safe to say that we are more than halfway there. “Mile 18” doesn’t look so bad right now, does it?! It’s as though I just stumbled upon some really good songs in my playlist, a downhill stretch of race terrain, and got a sugar rush to boot.

We’re getting there. Even on days where it doesn’t feel that way at all, we are getting closer. Little by little. Step by step. Mile marker by mile marker. I feel like the next bit of good news is on the horizon. It might be just enough fuel to sustain me for the rest of my personal marathon. And here’s hoping the last stretch of marathon has smooth terrain and that the wind is at my back. I’m anxious to get that finish line in sight!

PS – You know who else is also ready to be finished with this journey?! This guy:

{Yeah, this photo has nothing to do with the post really… but I thought you all deserved some cuteness.}