The Paper Chase
Several months ago, when Jon and I were trying to raise the money needed to begin the adoption process, I couldn't WAIT to start the paper chase (see some of my earlier posts), because it would mean we were on our way. Well, I am happy to report that we are deep into the paper chase, and we hope to have everything submitted and ready to go (which = finally being on the waiting list) by the end of the year.
(Please, please, please baby Jesus.)
For those of you whose lives are not consumed by international adoption, the "paper chase" is the (hopefully) few months when adoptive parents are up to their eyeballs in paper work and are spending every free moment possible working on obtaining needed documents. For example, last week we worked on getting life and health insurance confirmation letters and letters of clearance from our local police department. Next week we have our (thorough) physicals, and we will return to the doctor a week after our appointment to get our notarized letters stating that, to the doctor's knowledge, neither of us is facing imminent death. We are also working on getting letters of reference from a few of our friends and letters from our bank and our employers. In case you were wondering, international adoption does indeed feel like a part-time job sometimes.
Another key part of the paper chase is the home study. Our home visit is in a few weeks and, I have to admit, it's the part of the process that I'm the most nervous about. The thought of having someone in your home for several hours to analyze you and decide whether or not you and your spouse are fit to be parents is a little daunting. We also have had to obtain several documents for the home study, and we each have to write an "autobiography", guided by their very to-the-point questions (describe your most unpleasant childhood memory. how does your family really feel about the adoption?).
Each step we take brings us one step closer to our babies. And that makes all the work more than worth it.
For those of you whose lives are not consumed by international adoption, the "paper chase" is the (hopefully) few months when adoptive parents are up to their eyeballs in paper work and are spending every free moment possible working on obtaining needed documents. For example, last week we worked on getting life and health insurance confirmation letters and letters of clearance from our local police department. Next week we have our (thorough) physicals, and we will return to the doctor a week after our appointment to get our notarized letters stating that, to the doctor's knowledge, neither of us is facing imminent death. We are also working on getting letters of reference from a few of our friends and letters from our bank and our employers. In case you were wondering, international adoption does indeed feel like a part-time job sometimes.
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| Our adoption notebook, full of precious documents obtained with blood, sweat, and a few tears, and kept on a high shelf far away from spilled drinks and destructive shihpoos. |
Each step we take brings us one step closer to our babies. And that makes all the work more than worth it.
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