5 months!

Today is the day that marks 5 months since all my documentation arrived in Ecuador. So, if I were pregnant, I would be really showing by now. ;)

Of course, 5 months in the adoption world is quite a bit different than 5 months in the pregnancy world. Someone who is pregnant has a reasonable expectation of being more than halfway to the time when they will hold their precious child in their arms. Someone who is in the process of adopting cannot have any such expectations. As I learned from my first adoption, if one expects a child by a certain date, they are more profoundly disappointed when their expectations are not realized. So even though I hope to hold my precious son or daughter or both as soon as possible, I cannot expect it.

But wouldn't it be just so great if I got my referral in January?!~!~ I know, I am really bad. ;)

With my first adoption process, I struggled through 2 Christmases before I met E. The 2nd Christmas was the most difficult. I had expected to have had a child by then. It didn't matter who I was with or what we did, Christmas just didn't mean anything more than yet another holiday without a child with whom to celebrate. Now that I have E, Christmas last year and then this one coming, our 2nd since we started the process to adopt her sibling, was and will be a time of great joy.

So I guess because..
1) I have E and
2) I have the experience of adoption already and
3) I started this adoption in November 2007 which is only 1 month ahead of the first Christmas versus 6 months ahead of the first Christmas in the first adoption...
I have the luxury of a wonderful child, an understanding of the process and less time invested so far to afford me the patience and calm necessary to endure the wait.

So what does all this mean? Pretty much that there is still nothing new, but since I have reached the 5 month mark in my wait, I thought I might reflect on it.