spreading hope

As I've mentioned at least a few times before, going through the adoption process is a lot like being on an emotional roller coaster ride: so many ups and downs, highs and lows. We signed on for this and we tried to prepare ourselves as much as we could for the journey.

But no matter how much we tried to gear up for the process, I don't think it is possible to avoid having moments of uncertainty and doubt, frustration and anger, fear and sadness. This is not to say that we are spending our days in despair; to the contrary, we are mostly very excited and happy and joyous. But we do feel a need to temper those good feelings, to not get too excited or too happy, to not plan too much for the future. Because we don't know when we might reach the end of this journey.

The "what ifs" abound - what if this takes much longer than expected? what if the Ethiopian adoption laws change? what if we do not make it through court? what if... what if... what if.... We want to begin preparing for our new arrival, shopping for furniture and strollers and toys... sharing the news beyond the small circle of friends and family that we've already told (and, oh yeah, the blogging world!), but fear often gets the better of us. What if we tell the world and prepare a nursery and celebrate our adoption... and then things go wrong?

Or what if it doesn't.

At the end of the day, it probably doesn't matter how much more we do or don't do to openly celebrate our adoption plans. We are already fully invested and if things do become more difficult or challenging, I have a feeling we will feel pretty awful regardless of whether or not there is a stroller sitting in the apartment. And we will deal with it. Because we know that things will happen the way they are supposed to, and one day - maybe sooner, maybe later - we will see the light at the end of this tunnel. We will not lose hope.

A couple of days ago I mentioned a great post by Jana on the topic of hope. Overcoming her own fears, Jana purchase a pair of adorable keds for the little girl that is waiting for her and her husband as a symbol of her hope for the future. In an effort to further spread hope, I promised to share our own symbol of hope, so without further ado, I present our yet-to-be-named lion, our personal symbol of hope:



What is your symbol of hope?