On The Job Training

Last week I was in line at the drive through pharmacy and the person in front of me abruptly backed up and sped off. Apparently unhappy with however long he had to wait. I will be the first one to admit that I hate to wait! I love my drive thru coffee shop, pay at the pump gas service, drive thru restaurants and drive thru pharmacy. A couple years ago I would probably have backed up and sped off after a 5 minute wait too. But it dawned on me while sitting there...hey I think I've gained some ground in this waiting business. So I started to think of the other things the adoption process has taught me...

• I have learned to appreciate FedEx, UPS & my neighborhood mail lady. I 've even developed a sixth sense of being able to hear the mail truck anywhere in the neighborhood.
• I have learned about all my government offices. County, local , state you name it. I can tell you their weekday, weekend and holiday hours.
• I have learned to use my computer. I couldn't imagine not having it and feel like I should name it!
  
• I have learned to use e-mail. My husband has taught me that 24 hours is an appropriate length of time to wait for an e-mail response. I tend to get crazy and refresh(which I have also found that button:) a thousand times.
• I have learned to blog! Finally a hobby of some sort.

I have learned so much and have so much to learn. A friend of mine at an adoptive mom's group said when she started the process she was envisioning a "Mc Adoption". You pull up get what you ordered and off you go. I think until you get in and start doing the work it is hard to fathom the enormity of the process and what is involved. There are no drive thru's. It is a journey.The deeper we get into the process I begin to realize how much of a privilege it is to be adopting and the importance of the steps we need to go through. Adopting is not for everyone. It's big and complicated and emotional. But,we're running the race and going the extra mile. How sweet it will be to get to the end and bring our children home. Until then , we wait , continue to learn and enjoy the journey.
Bambi