Three magical, little letters and for those of you non-adoption geeks, who somehow missed it the last fifty thousand times I've mentioned it, they stand for Dossier To China. We were officially DTC yesterday, April 27th. It's funny because it seems like the road was soooo darn long! BUT! In actuality, it was only 6 months. And to add to the insanity, we'll be meeting little miss Macey (hopefully, fingers, toes, legs and eyes crossed!) in September. That makes the process from start to finish, less than a year. Pre-adopt class was on October 15th, and best case scenario we'll be traveling to China in September. Thank God for China! Thank God for orphaned kids! Thank God our daughter was born with serious issues and was left in a field! Woo hoo!
All kidding aside, I am pretty impressed that we have pulled it all off so quickly, thus far. Now that I am putting my lips to the mouthpiece of my very own horn, surely the tide will change and we won't get logged in right away and our LOA will take 100 days and we won't meet Macey until freaking Christmas. Me and my big, fat mouth. However, if things keep chugging steadily along, knock on wood, I am hoping our story will provide encouragement to those considering China Special Needs Adoption or to others who are in the early stages of the process. You can let it intimidate and overwhelm you, or you can take it by the horns and run with it!
Yesterday, April 27th was a good day for me personally. I started it with an intense workout and while talking with a friend about the situation with my sick friend and how I feel terribly guilty for being happy about anything big, or small, she said to me "You cannot let it deprive you of the joy you should be feeling today. You need to enjoy this day and it doesn't have any impact on how much you care for or are worried about your friend." She was right and it was liberating to hear it out loud. I also know my sweet friend wouldn't want me feeling anything more than joyful about my personal circumstances. Not only were we hours from being DTC (after a few minor last minute requests from our agency), but I also got the all clear on my boobs by the end of the day. The doctor said "they look great!" Why thank you, sir! Long story long, I had a lump last fall and had to go in immediately for my first mammogram and ultrasound. Said lump was no big deal, just an enlarged milk duct from breast feeding. Sexy! And bovine like. But they did find a bunch of calcification spots that they wanted to keep a watch on. I had to schedule another mammogram 6 months out to have a follow-up looky lou at those little spots. Meanwhile I did this totally awesome genetic testing that sequenced my DNA to find out my carrier risks for a boat load of diseases, the variants I do or do not carry, how I respond to different medications, where in the world my maternal line comes from and my physical traits ... it was WILD to see on a screen more about me and what is inside of me than I've ever known (remember, I was adopted). Most important was something that isn't a part of me .... and that is the breast cancer gene. Whew! All clear. For like a week. Then big mouth, literally, Giuliana Rancic has to go on all the talk shows and gossip rags to say she has breast cancer and didn't have the gene. Buzz. Kill. Then then I went in for my annual exam with my Ob in March she mentioned my diagnostic mammogram to see what is going on with those pesky little spots. Diagnostwhat? TF? I didn't think they were diagnosing anything; I thought, maybe somewhat naively, that it was just a simple follow-up. I started to panic a teensy bit because, let's face it girls, one of us is gonna get it! And you know what, by yesterday morning I thought what the hell, I'll take one for the team. That's the kind of week it's been. But as good luck would have it, I don't have to take one for the team. At least not yet! My pesky little spots are just that. A bunch of little spots all over, deep in my left breastess that just live there. They aren't causing any problems. There are quite a few of them, but they look just like they did 6 months ago and they're all loners. I have to go back next year when I turn 40 to make sure they're all still hanging out on their own. If any of them makes 4 more friends over the next year, we'll have to go in and break up the party. Till then it's booby pancake per annum for me.
So dtc AND a clear bill of health. Well I think I should just stop there. I can't ask for more than my family and my health.
Feeling mighty thankful, friends!
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