This part of the journey is the absolute hardest for me. I despise waiting and waiting and waiting. I simply want to fly to Russia, scoop up our little guy in my arms, and fly back home.
Instead...here we sit. Life goes on. Laundry, dishes, cooking, and cleaning don't stop. We keep waiting and wondering and praying. Then things like this pop into my mind....and I copy and paste it for all to read.
I didn't write this. It's from a book that we have on our bookshelf that is filled with adoption stories from multitudes of families.
Without further ado......
Different Trips to the Same Place
Deciding to have a baby is like planning a trip to Australia. You've heard it's a wonderful place, you've read many guidebooks, and feel certain you're ready to go. Everybody you know has traveled by plane. They say it can be a turbulent flight with occasional rough landings, but you can look forward to being pampered on the trip.
So you go to the airport and ask the ticket agent for a ticket to Australia. All around you, excited people are boarding planes for Australia. It seems there is no seat for you; you'll have to wait for the next flight. Impatient, but anticipating a wonderful trip, you wait--and wait--and wait.
Flights to Australia continue to come and go. People say silly things like, "Relax. You'll get on a flight soon." Other people actually get on a plane and then cancel their trip, to which you cry, "It's not fair!"
After a long time the ticket agent tells you, "I'm sorry, we're not going to be able to get you on a plane to Australia. Perhaps you should think about going by boat."
"By BOAT!" you say. "Going by boat will take a very long time and it costs a great deal of money. I really had my heart set on going by plane." So you go home and think about not going to Australia at all. You wonder if Australia will be as beautiful if you approach by sea rather than air. But you have long dreamed of this wonderful place, and finally you decide to travel by boat.
It is a long trip, many months over many rough seas. No one pampers you. You wonder if you will ever see Australia. Meanwhile, your friends have flown back and forth to Australia two or three times, marveling about each trip.
Then one glorious day, the boat docks in Australia. It is more exquisite than you ever imagined, and the beauty is magnified by your long days at sea. You have made many wonderful friends during your voyage, and you find yourself comparing stories with others who also traveled by sea rather than by air.
People continue to fly to Australia as often as they like, but you are able to travel only once, perhaps twice. Some say things like, "Oh, be glad you didn't fly. My flight was horrible; traveling by sea is so easy."
You will always wonder what it would have been like to fly to Australia. Still, you know God blessed you with a special appreciation of Australia, and the beauty of Australia is not in the way you get there, but in the place itself.
--Author Unknown
We have been blessed. Many adoptive families aren't able to bring home more than one child. It's costly. It takes time. It's not really the most fun process in the world. But it is so worth it. We already have two children zipping around here and are waiting on the third.
See how worth it it is?!
They're the cutest little grubbers in the whole county.
Next time you see me, remind me to quit complaining and to start remembering to count my blessings.
Thank you.
But I still can just hardly wait to have the third little guy squished right there in the middle.
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