A Giant Step - Backwards

When is Hunter coming home? That is the big question in this house. This week we took a giant step in the wrong direction - backwards. I have been pushing our agency to give us a more realistic timetable for travel. I had an offer to teach again at a local law school, Jim has vacation he will lose if not taken by February. When Holt told us they were talking to VN and wanted to have a conference call Wednesday, I was a little nervous. It couldn't be bad news could it?

Yes - very bad. We were told that VN will not provide a timeline to complete the adoption. Holt's "best guess" is that the earlier "paperwork issues" (when the province erroneously assumed a law requiring new paperwork was retroactive) has de-railed us and another family by about 6 months from the "normal" process. They are "hopeful" we will travel in 6 months but it could be a year. Devastated - yes. Lots of tears, lots of anger, lots of despair. How do we continue to get close and every time we are within 2 months of anticipating travel we are told it will be longer and longer and longer?!! How do you continue to believe and hope and wait? It has made me physically sick (as evidenced by 3 ER visits this summer and about 6k in hospital bills). It is completely stressing Jim and Marshall out. What must the wait be doing to poor Hung who has heard for a year and a half we are coming for him?

Of course we are grateful we have a referral when so many waiting families are shut out by the closure of the program. Why does every other province seem to be able to get their kids home within 6-7 months of match? We are coming up on a year this week since the province has had our files. What has taken so long? There are no answers, not even excuses.

So how do we cope? Day by day. This weekend we saw Tony Bennett at on outdoor free concert. We took in the tour at the Edison museum. Jim and Marsh are on their way to watch the Rays hopefully win the AL pennant against the Sox tonight. Lily and I are going to watch talking chihuahuas. We have planned brief vacations for December and June. Continue to pray for our family, especially Hunter. Please don't stop asking us about the process as if it will never happen. Bear with us if we cry when we answer that we don't know. He will come home. He has to.