We Have A Date !!!

... sort of.

This is tooo much!!! :) So I've been waiting for the next milestone, TA. Remember this means Travel Approval. This is when all the paperwork to accept the child is delivered, all the clearances have cleared, the Visas are issued and China sends word that the parent(s) are approved to come to China. TA.

At the point of approval the adoption agency (in US) contacts the US Consulate in China, and makes an appointment for the group of families and children (more on the group later). When this appointment is secured, another milestone has been met. Then the agency's travel department starts to make hotel reservations, meeting times, in country touring plans, etc... all orchestrated to get you to your consulate appointment on the right day and time.


And if you are thinking how hard can that be... before you get to the consulate, there's jet lag, forgetting not to drink the water, more paperwork, appointments, approvals, oh and being united with your child! This takes about a week... And once the agency has these arrangements in place, the next milestone is getting your travel dates with 5 to 7 days notice!

Before you start to think that I am leaving this week, stop. These milestones did not quite happen like that. (Expect the unexpected.) Instead, I got an email message this past Thursday informing me that

TA and the Consulate appointments should be coming in the next few days. Will you be able to travel on September 1 or 2 with the understanding that your return date cannot be determined at this time but plan on a 14 to 17 day stay. Please reply to this email confirming that you are able to travel during this time. 

There's the answer to "When" ... For everyone, including me, who has asked and wondered, doubted and hoped ... September 1 or 2, 2010. (still, the unknowing continues!)

Four years, four months, three or four days.

At this moment the infamous Andrea tears just might be about the wall coming down. The wall that protected me from enduring the always increasing wait, the disappointment, the frustration. The same wall that allowed me to keep moving forward, beginning to teach; meeting new and dear friends; taking hikes in Mount Desert Island, Maine.

It has been a long time.

Let's change the countdown, shall we? Is there a such thing as a "countup"? Well, I'm the editor, and I'm declaring editorial license... there is a such thing as a countup. The next milestone is a countup to being united with my forever Phoebe.