Thank you, strangers

I wanted to call your attention to something that seems to be missing in the news lately. Sadly, there are too many terrible things occurring in the world, that we can't discuss all of them between fashion shows, cooking segments, and concerts on the morning news. East Africa is experiencing a severe drought and famine and an estimated 500,000 children are dying of malnutrition. If you want to help, you can donate to UNICEF, International Medical Corps, International Rescue Committee, World Food Programme, World Vision, Oxfam America, and Mercy Corps, (WARNING, clicking on any of these links may expose you to heartbreaking pictures of children, but don't let that deter you. A quick Google search will tell you how to donate via texting.) Please note that I do not know much about these charities or what percentage of your donation actually goes to feed the hungry.


It has been a busy day on the adoption front. Since there seems to be little we can do to expedite our home study, we are working on our dossier. All of the documents in the dossier have an expiration date, so we didn't want to obtain them too early. There was a very real possibility that our dossier documents would expire in the home study wait. Since I have been assured that the home study is complete (more on that later), I felt comfortable working on the dossier some more. Most of our out-of-state documents have been authenticated (or apostilled), with the exception of one, which (I am embarrassed to say) has been sitting on the kitchen counter for many, many weeks. This document is the only document that has to be quintuple stamped (as opposed to quadruple stamped). As of this afternoon, that document is on its way to stampy happiness.
This morning, I visited my doctor to obtain a letter, which will state that I am healthy enough to be a mommy. (Or specifically, I have "no history of any mental or physical illness that would impair [my] ability to act as a parent to an adopted child or children." While I was at the doctor's office, I opted to start my Hepatitis B vaccinations, since apparently I had no immunity during my last physical. May I just add that I am such a trooper when people draw blood from anywhere, but I cannot stand injections. I asked the nurse if the shot would sting. She replied, "Oh no. Most people tolerate it pretty well. Except for that first stick." She lied. I guess I should have known that any needle and substance being injected into a muscle is going to hurt. Regardless of the pain of the injection (and the two that will follow in the next 6 months), thank you to my doctor and her nurse for writing my letter and hunting for a notary whose commission does not expire in the next 18 months.
After leaving the doctor, I ventured into downtown. Why don't I venture into downtown more often? Downtown OKC is actually quite lovely. My purpose was to find the County Clerk's office to get a "vesting deed." After one wrong turn, I found what I needed. I had expected long lines, carbon-copied forms filled in triplicate, and disgruntled workers, sounding like automatons. Imagine my surprise when I was in and out of the building in 18 minutes. (That included the time I needed to find a spot in the parking garage). Thank you to the three nice people at the OK County Clerk's office. You were most helpful and actually seemed to enjoy your jobs.
I then left beautiful downtown OKC and headed to our credit union. We needed a letter from our primary financial institution, listing how much we had in the bank and classifying us as responsible or irresponsible bank patrons. There is a form letter they must write that ends with: "To our knowledge they are very respectable, responsible, and honest people." And guess what? The bank thinks we are. Granted, I did have to go twice because the teeny, tiny branch only had one guy who could write the letter and he couldn't notarize his own letter. So I had to go twice.... once to drop off the letter template and once to pick it up. But I still found it to be a painless experience. Thank you to the teller who pointed me in the right direction, the bank manager who wrote the letter, and the notary who organized it all.
I then made a few non-adoption stops for lunch and other things. I won't bore you with tales of Caesar salads and my thoughts on the 80's floral comeback in women's dresses. However, as an aside, much like the majority of the US, it was miserably hot this afternoon, so I stopped into Sonic for a Strawberry Fruit Slush during Happy Hour. Did you know that brain freeze can radiate to your back? Ouch!
On my drive home, Craig called. Our home study agency needed some information (which was provided to the home study worker in November....grr....). Since I had been wandering all over Central OK using my phone as GPS, I was low on battery bars, so I waited until I returned home to call.
Last Friday, I received a phone call from the home study agency director, who informed me that the home study was completed. They would send it to the adoption agency that week and then we would be all done. Now, anyone who has done an international adoption knows that the intended parents need a copy of the home study to send to immigration and a copy of the home study agency's license to send with the dossier. I know that this is not the first international home study this agency has done. However, they did not seem to know this. So, I was promised a copy.
Imagine my surprise when we get a message a week later saying that the home study still had not been sent because our home study worker lost our adoption agency info. Why it took a week for someone to obtain this information from us, I do not know. So, I called and provided them with this information. She promised to send our copy and the adoption agency's copy today. However, she did not know anything about needing a copy of the license. So, I had to tell a third person that we needed the license. I really want to put the name of the home study agency in this blog so that no one else will endure this frustration, but I'm above that.
I will be happy when this home study business is completely behind us. For the past 7-8 months, it has seemed like one broken promise and lie after another. It has really affected my level of optimism and my sense of control. However, today, I learned that there are lots of people willing to help us with our adoption in a friendly and expeditious manner, and that's not even part of their job description.