Sweet Sixteen

I figure this adopting process is like the picture above of someone running a race. You are so pumped and excited at the start. Every thing is going well, you have adrenaline pumping and you start with a bang. You feel like you know what you are up against and you are going to do it with no glitches and nothing will bring you down. Bring it on race, I'm going to tackle you with no problems. You feel like you are passing and gaining on some. It's still going good, and it's early enough in the race you still are strong and going for gold.

Then you hit the mid section of the race. You are getting tired. People are passing you. You might start to feel like you are getting an injury and really start to feel like giving up, or is this race EVER going to end. You might even feel guilty because you should have trained harder. But then, you see the face of someone you care about, cheering you on, giving you hope and inspiration. It gives you the fuel to keep on plugging away, and not stop.

Finally you see the finish line. You get that blast of adrenaline again and you push forward and give it your all. Your friends and family are cheering and so happy for you cause it's almost done. They know how hard you worked, and how hard this race has been for you, and know you are probably in pain....but they are so excited that it is almost over for you. You sprint forward and finish strong.

Ahhhhhhhh. The finish line. You cross it, and it's over. Joy, the pain you felt mid way is washed away with the overwhelming excitment you have that you did it.....It was worth it. You proved to yourself you can do this race....It's over.

To those of you who are not in this adoption process yourselves....This is how it feels when you go thru the journey. The start of it when you are doing paperwork, you are so excited and pumped that you just go forward with such joy and enthusiasm that it seems so great. You tell everyone, your going to adopt and it's so great. You might even start a blog. Once your paper work goes to the country you are adopting from, you start to wait.....and wait. Everyone is trying to be supportive and tell you positive things, but it just starts to drag on. You feel like it will never end. It feels like everyone else is getting referrals, and you are not. You get down, and even depressed about it. You feel pain, because you know your family isn't complete, and you are wanting to know who your child is. You get tired of talking about it, because everyone asks the same questions. It feels like you have nothing to blog about because if you posted about how you are feeling or what's new, it would be depressing and the same old story. Or you think no one even reads your blog, so why do it. You feel like giving up...but know you would never do that. People who are pregnant only have to wait 9 months...but we are waiting over 2 years. Some guilt might set in because you want to feel happy for everyone who is having babies, or getting their referrals, but we have empty arms. Family and friends pull you thru by encouraging and just keeping our minds off things.

We are still in the mid section of our race. We haven't a referral yet, so I can't talk about the finish line too much, but can only imagine what it will be like to get the referral call. I know it will give us the strength to get back in the game and sprint forward. It will still be a long wait until the "gottcha day" in Ethiopia, more paper work and court dates....but it will be like racing to the finish line because you have a visual of who your child is, so you can go full speed, knowing you can see the finish line.

To hold our child in our arms the first time, will be our finish line. Awesome, rewarding, joy, love, and so much more will make this race worth every second. Family and friends will be there to cheer us on. What a great day that will be.

This story can also be applied to many different "races" in all of our lives. For me it also is like my personal relationship with my Heavenly Father. I have up's and downs, and sometimes feel like it's not going well. Thank goodness that we have a Father who is there to forgive and pick us up again. It's my personal faith that gets us through these hard times. Prayer of others for us also gets my spirits back up.

This race is also how my journey of weight loss is. I worked so hard at losing almost 120 pounds. Now have gained back......come on now as if I m going to say how much!! But I will give you a hint......10 pounds....nope. 20....uhuh.....30.....uh....not it either 40...well getting close!......I will stop there! Ahhhhh so frustrating. But I'm getting back on the saddle and getting those number to go down.

Maybe you don't have these "races" but I'm sure you've struggled thru you own race and can relate what I am talking about. The main thing is that we don't give up on our races, and we finish it.

We have hit the 16 month point. Is it sweet. Nope. Will it be sweet. You bettcha.

Cheers