One Year

I just realized that today marks the one year anniversary of the acceptance of our home study and the day we became "a waiting family". Last year I wondered what it would be like - the waiting. Even though I had no idea what to expect from this waiting period, I think my expectations were reasonable. I certainly didn't think we'd have a child by the end of last summer or not even before the end of the year. But I did not expect after one full year that we would still just be waiting. I thought something, anything would have happened by now. But, nothing. Nothing at all.

I'm not going to get all down on myself. Looking back I realize how little I understood the adoption process a year ago. For about 2 years before we took the plunge, I read everything about adoption. I asked people we knew who had adopted. I thought I was pretty adoption savvy. Now I realize I didn't know squat.

Our social worker turned me on to the blogger world. She suggested it as a way to network for our adoption. I don't know if this little bit of blogging is really doing us any good. But I am thankful to have found all the adoption bloggers I currently read. And I find new ones everyday. They are people from all sides of adoption and they are the ones who have really taught me what I now know about adoption today. The kind of things you can't learn from a book. They have shared real life experiences, the good and the bad and the ones they are still trying to figure out for themselves. Situations that I never would have dreamed about. Most of all, they opened our eyes to open adoption. Last month we sat down with our social worker in order to change our home study to include open adoption situations. So I thank you, adoption bloggers, for taking the time to document your journeys and for giving me encouragement.

I have also recently been branching out and visiting other blogs. I think it started with a few blogs which featured gardening and from there to blogs about travelling - two of my favorite pastimes. I've also started to read another bunch that fascinate me so much. The expats. It's amazing that they are so brave to pick up and live in a foreign country. It is something I dreamed of when I was younger, but never had the nerve to do. All of these blogs provide such interesting reading. Looking at gardens and listening to tales of travel is a great way to keep my mind occupied during this waiting period. So I thank those bloggers, too.

And so now, with a year behind us, I will take all that I have learned and look forward. As Scarlett says, "After all, tomorrow is another day!"