a little of this, a little of that

I apologize in advance for what it likely to be a fairly disjointed post, as I seem to have many unrelated things on my mind at the moment.

First, I just need to vent. Oh where, oh where is our NY State criminal clearance? And why is it taking so long for our social worker to write up our homestudy report??

I sincerely apologize for every time I read a blog where someone else was venting about how hard all the waiting is during the adoption process and I self-righteously thought to myself "how could they be complaining... it's only been XX days/weeks... we were told it would take at least YY days/weeks...." I was soooo wrong! We haven't even gotten to the tough part (the wait for a referral) and I'm already struggling with a lack of patience. Not to mention all the crazy scenarios going through my head while I anxiously wait for the results of our criminal background checks, even though we should feel quite confident about this (think George Costanza in a Seinfeld episode and you'll know where my mind is going these days).

Then there's the homestudy. It looks like most other people had their homestudy reports completed within a month of their homestudy visits. We're at 3 weeks post-visit now and haven't heard a thing. This is even harder than the criminal check because we can't proceed with other steps until the report is completed. Perhaps our social worker is just trying to find enough words to describe all the fabulous things she discovered about us? ;)

Okay... enough venting. Ryan has suggested that I take up a new hobby now so that I can get through the rest of this process without losing my sanity. I think he's right. Any suggestions?

On another note.... This weekend I finished Melissa Fay Greene's book "There is no Me Without You." This seems like a rite of passage for those adopting from Ethiopia, and I have to admit I wasn't really that interested in the book when I started it. But it is truly an amazing, inspiring, and, at times, heartbreaking story about one woman's efforts to help orphans in Ethiopia. I absolutely recommend it - especially if you are planning to adopt or know someone who is adopting/has adopted from Ethiopia. In addition to the story of this particular woman, you will really learn a great deal about the AIDS crisis in Ethiopia and why so many children are in need of homes.

Speaking of which, we've talked quite a bit to friends and family about what we can all do to help children in Ethiopia. It's something Ryan and I have thought about a great deal. We don't consider the adoption to be a humanitarian act - it's far more selfish than selfless. But we do feel a strong connection to the country which will be the birthplace of our child and we know that we want to make a long-term commitment to Ethiopia. We're still exploring the best way to carry this out and will definitely share our plans with you. We appreciate so much people's interest in joining us in these efforts. For now, I have posted (on the sidebar) links to the humanitarian aid pages of our adoption agency and Melissa Fay Greene's website, where you can learn about many great organizations working in Ethiopia.

And finally, one more change of subject. I want to wish D&K congratulations on the birth of their third little girl!! We're so happy for you guys!!!