This week has been a good week for me. I still expect to wait another couple of months but there has been movement on the waiting list. After no referrals in February, it seems like the drought has ended and several referrals were announced this week. One of the referrals was for a friend of mine who is also a single parent. She is part of my waiting family support group and she and I and a couple of other single ladies meet for dinner before our meeting. She got her referral on Wednesday for a 5 month old baby girl. She's teeny but has the most amazing brown eyes I have ever seen. What a joy it was to see the pictures last night and hear all about "The Call". It seems like a tangible reminder that at some point, this is going to happen for me.
Maybe this is a good time to explain what "The call" is. "The call" is when my case worker Emily calls me and tells me that they have a referral for me. She'll call me at one of the 75 numbers I have left for her to let me know who my punkin is. She will tell me the name, gender, age and region where the Punkin is from. She will then send me an e-mail with 1-2 pictures, a medical history and any background information on the child. I will then send that information over to an international pediatrician who will review the information and will call me on the phone to discuss the case. If all goes well, I will then accept the referral and then my agency will start the legal procedures in Ethiopia. Now, I know that many people will wait to tell people until they get the ok from the pediatrician. I don't imagine I will be one of those people. I can't imagine hanging onto that kind of information. My guess is that I'll be crying and carrying on so much that you'll hear me from wherever you are. My guess is that I will make phone calls and e-mails the second I get the news. I will also try to update the blog with details of the call but I am not allowed to post pictures on any Internet site until after I have passed court in Ethiopia which is approximately 2-5 months after the referal. I do believe I am able to e-mail the picture as long as you agree not to post it so you won't have to wait to see them. I know you're all getting as anxious as I am. In fact, two of my co-workers have had dreams that I got my referral. Neither one remembers if it was a boy or a girl, they just remember that we were all running around crying and yelling. Since I will likely get the call while I am work, it's really nice to know that there will be so many people around that will celebrate with me.
I have waited so long for this child that sometimes it seems like it will never happen. My niece Meghan will occasionally ask me if the baby is still coming because it's been a long time we've been talking about it and she's not here yet. She told me she wants a boy to even up the numbers but she thinks it will be a girl and her name will be Hannah like Hannah Montana. I told her that was reason enough not to name her that and she said, "well, I could get over the Hannah Montana if I had to. I could probably call her just Hannah if that woul do it". She cracks me up. I still haven't decided on the girl's name but I am heavily favoring Grace these days so we'll see.
Well, that's all for now. Let's hope that month number 10 brings good news.
