Mother's Day

I recently came across the following essay, and was so moved by it. I wanted to share it on this special weekend... please read and enjoy!

"Are you my child?," asked the woman, "My eyes are blue, and yours are brown."

The child looked up and saw the loving smile, and said, "Your eyes are blue, but they see far and they see near. They can see bright, and they can see soft. They can see me in all colors, in all places, and most of all, they like what they see. They have a twinkle that means you are happy. Yes, I am your child."

The woman nodded.
"Are you my child?," the woman asked, "My skin is ivory, and yours is brown. I am from near, and you are from far."

The child gazed at her and said, "Your skin is light, and mine is dark, but it covers our bodies perfectly, just the same. I am from there, but it leads to here, so our paths have merged at just the right time. Yes, I am your child."

The woman nodded.
"Are you my child?," asked the woman, "Though we are different, do we belong together?"

The child took the woman's hand and said, "We may be different in some ways, but we are the same in many others. We like the smell of flowers, and we like to giggle. We smile at each other for no reason, and we enjoy the same songs. You tell stories that soothe me, and I hold your hand when I'm scared. Yes, I am your child."

The woman nodded.
"Are you my child," the woman asked? "I am old, and you are young. I speak a language that is foreign to you. Can you understand me? Are you truly mine?"

The child smiled up at her and said, "I have searched for you for a long time. I think you are perfect. I love the sound of your words, and I can almost understand them. You think you are old, but you are ageless to me. I only need to see the love in your eyes, and I understand everything. Yes, I am truly yours. I am your child. And you are my mother."

The woman wiped a tear of joy from her eye, and nodded. "Yes, my darling, I am your mother."

We live in a world where divorce is a 50 percent possibility, where couples may or not decide to marry, where single individuals can choose to be single parents, where rules about traditional mothering, fathering, and parenting in general have been challenged. But despite the variations in family life that now abound, I think it's safe to say that Motherhood is precious, and worth celebrating.

So, Happy Mother's day to women everywhere - to mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmothers, step-mothers, surrogate mothers, adoptive mothers, and friend's mothers. We all do the mothering, one way or another. It's a "girl" thing.

- Cheryl Saban

One month closer...

I've been logged in for one month today!

Reflections on Aging...

Yes, it's true - as these birthday candles indicate, it is my birthday today and I am turning 3! (okay, so I am turning 3+! But that's Ok too...

After the requisite pre-Cinco de Mayo Mexican dinner last night, I got up early this morning and went to my aqua class. I love my aqua class because I am the youngest person (by about 25 years!) in the class. There is no judgement, no competition - just a spunky bunch of older ladies who are "regulars" and always welcome me back with open arms, even when I've skipped class for weeks (if not months!) at a time. Thru my divorce, my single-dom and dating adventures, from moving to my new townhouse, and now thru my adventures in adoption, the ladies at the Montclair Rec Center are always there and happy to see me.

When I was a little girl I was certain I would get married at 22 and have babies by 25. Live in a house with a white picket fence with my doting husband. What I didn't count on was the demands of a fulltime career, not getting married until 28 and subsequently, a marriage gone awry. Now here I find myself, in my upper 30s, starting fresh again, with new dreams, many lessons learned, and a bit more perspective. Two years ago, the concept of an unknown future was scary and debilitating. Today, I welcome and look forward to it. I don't know what the next three years will bring - but I am excited about it. There is no doubt there will be hard times, painful stretches, and experiences which I cannot now even fathom - but I am up for it!

Throw at me what you will Universe - I am ready - BRING IT ON!

Congrats!

CODE RED People!!! Hooray for everyone who is receiving their referral this week! Six LID dates worth of referrals have been confirmed and baby announcements are taking over the blogs - how exciting!

In other news, my friends Dana & Jeff are leaving Seattle THURSDAY for China to pick up baby Mia - they have waited so long and I am so thrilled for them. They are indeed in for a wild - but amazing - ride!

A rough storm came up one night and left a sandy beach strewn with starfish.

The next morning, a child walked along the shore, stopping every few feet to pick up a starfish and fling it out into the sea.

An old man watching the child finally shouted at him, "Why bother, son? There are too many starfish to make a difference."

With that, the boy picked up another starfish and looked at it intently before heaving it out into the sea. Then turning to the old man he said...

"It makes a difference to this one!"

Warm Weather and Other Fun Stuff

Hooray! It was 80+ degrees here in Denver today and WOW did it feel great! I'm hoping this officially marks the end of our winter weather and NO MORE SNOW! I am completely OVER the snow (which actually took place as recently as this past Tuesday!) Everyone here says to wait until after Mother's Day to plant outdoors, because you really aren't out of the woods until then. So I'm going to wait a couple more weeks to plant the containers on my deck - but Steve and I did go out to Paulino Gardens (a large nursery) and walk around today in the warm weather and enjoy the sights and smells of spring flowers.

One of my Yahoo groups is starting it's 100 Wishes Quilt exchange this month, which I am excited about. I actually linked a new blog (see under Adoption Links at left) where I am going to post all the squares and wishes I receive for Lia's quilt. I already received the first one! My mom has generously offered to help piece the quilt together once I collect 100 squares (which is wonderful since I have absolutely NO sewing skills!)

I am also excited to start new "virtual" friendships with other April LID'ers through a bib exchange and secret pal exchange in the coming months. It will be a nice way to pass the time and get to know other adoptive parents during the wait ahead.

Another busy work week ahead. It's almost the end of the 2007 Legislative Session, so things are very hectic as we wrap up this week. I'll be happy to take a breather for a few weeks before things get REALLY wild at the end of summer as the hospital gets ready to move out to it's new building October 1. When I first started my job at the hospital, the move seemed so far away, now it is just around the corner.

Hopefully the coming months will fly by as well - bringing me closer to Lia!

My 2 Cents...

Over the past couple of weeks there have been a lot of rumors flying around about extended wait times for China adoptions over the next couple of years…and lots of folks are upset. I get that, it is frustrating, but it also makes me sad that people are so caught up on the speed factor rather than the prize at the end of the race. This is a marathon people, not a sprint!

Lia will be worth the wait no matter how long it takes. My heart is with this program and I just know that Lia will be in China and waiting for me when the time is right - whether that's a year or three years from now. So I am just trying to find peace in that and "go with the flow" as far as the wait times are concerned. CCAI has been clear from the beginning that there is no way to know for sure how long the wait will be - we cannot control the Chinese government or the speed of their referrals. We CAN however, trust that they are a reliable program that matches people fairly in order of when they apply, and that when they have a baby for you, they WILL let you know. So I guess all we can do is wait and prepare, and focus on the future!

My family and friends have been SO supportive to me (I am lucky I guess, I’ve recently heard stories of people's families are not near as excited to accept a Chinese child into their family - so SAD!) So for now I focus on my future WITH Lia, not on the two years ahead without her...that's what I'm trying to do anyway...plus I like to think about how fast the last two years have flown by...she will be here before we know it!

LID***LID***LID***LID***LID***4-10-07!

Yup - that's right folks! My official log in date (LID) over in China is 4-10-07! HOORAY!

What this means for folks who aren't familiar with the process is:

a) I officially beat the May 1st deadline (after that, singles can no longer apply!)
b) I have an offical spot "in line" as they match babies
c) Now I settle in for a LOOOOONG wait!

Currently they are matching people with LID's in November 2005. So clearly I have awhile to wait. But I'm not letting that get me down - in fact, I am THRILLED that I had the courage to apply last November and therefore got one of the last singles spots available. I feel blessed that God gave me the strength and intuition to DO THIS NOW and not wait.

I am seeing some internet postings from folks who are already complaining about the long wait and ridiculous timelines...but I am bound and determined to keep a positive outlook on this entire process. This gives me LOTS of time to prepare for Lia's arrival, read lots of parenting and adoption books, save $$$ and pay down credit cards before my trip to China!

Though this paperwork process I've had the wonderful support of my entire family and circle of friends. And through this blog have already met some wonderful online friends as well! We're all in this together - and I am so thankful to have all of you in my life!