Acting “As If”

I will not join in the panic mode but, as of yesterday, it looks like Kazakhstan is TEMPORARILY closed to U.S. adoptions (if you have not already submitted your dossier). Just at a time when my thoughts are taking me closer to decision time. Does this mean weeks, months, years? I contacted the agency I am considering using and they replied that, historically, these things usually resolve themselves fairly quickly. I am maintaining hope and will continue to act “as if” this is still going to happen.

I found a wonderful website with adoption stories — www.hallmarkchannel.com
Just click on Adoption Stories. The one I was most moved by was Finding Alina — about a family who adopted 2 siblings from Romania, and only too late discovered there was another sibling there, an older sister. It took 6 years to get back to her and bring her home. I had a few good cries watching that one! Especially the welcome off the plane. That gets me every time!

Gary watched the whole thing with me. I asked him what he thought when it was over. His reply, “If the Favassas can do it, so can the Karps.”

I really enjoyed watching the documentaries in general — professionally edited and narrated footage of a most monumental and momentous time in this family’s life. Our family had the blessing (!!) of being filmed for A Baby Story on The Learning Channel in 2002 and then four years later on A Baby Story: Where Are They Now? It was one of the most exciting times in our life for so many reasons. But looking back now, there is no monetary value I can put on having a 22 minute edited show of how the Karp Family became 3 and then later on, 4. Yes, I gave birth on national TV! Crazy as that may sound. Thanks to editing and the fact that I had the foresight to apply pink lipstick and a nude liner once the epidural kicked in, it did look like a birth “made for TV” 😉 It was a surreal and outstanding experience and I wrote about it and my decision to do it in Parents Magazine and Fit Pregnancy Magazine — my first published work. It was such a proud moment as well and something very special for Emma’s life story — and my own as well! And when I look at the adoption stories, I think how lucky these children are to have a documentary that fully captures the emotional and physical journeys their parents took to make them a family. Surely they will always know how loved and wanted they are. Absolutely beautiful.

I am grateful for my family of four. I am grateful for all that I have and all that is yet to be.