So after my emotional breakdown last week I thought I would post an update because despite my glumness a lot of very happy and positive things happened last week.  Lots of folks emailed me with lots of support to “hang in there” which was very sweet and encouraging.  It reminded me of the richness of our community. I feel lucky and loved.

I had an encouraging conversation with our agency. They were pretty assuring that the media was making a bigger deal out of the Ethiopian adoption issue than what was being felt on the ground. They also said (good info) that when we had started this process they were able to push larger batches of referrals through at once. Now that there are two trips and higher bureaucracy that the referral are coming in more as a trickle- but to hang in there (like we were going to give up now).

My most amazing and wonderful former knit group the Durham String Thing surprised me with a sock yarn baby blanket and my friend Katherine knit me a giant stuffed elephant. They really are a terrific group of folks and I feel really lucky to still consider myself a String Thinger.  I also started an informal knitting group with a new friend this week. When she asked about the adoption (I was doing a bit lamenting) she said she was pulling for us even before she ever met us.

My friend Lori– sent me this link about getting to the top of the waiting list and how it apparently makes everyone a little fucking crazy. I am totally going back to re-watch the Gilmore Girls from Season 1. That shit is like crack cocaine and Lexipro mixed into one dvd.

The highpoint of my week came at my volunteer gig. I volunteer at Africa House in the senior citizen art class. Many of the seniors are Ethiopian with a few Eritrean and Somali folks thrown in. I feel so lucky that I get to go there once a week and get hugged. Really hugged. I should totally be paying them to hug me. It is the best freaking therapy on the planet. One of my favorite seniors Momena gives these wonderful full body hugs. Truly I can’t get enough of them.  So I was feeling a little fragile on Friday and kept just randomly hugging Momena—it helped, it helped a lot.

The art teacher was off for the holidays and I was asked to fill in doing a craft. We made these little bird ornament thingys out of felt. I think they had fun with the project. I had fun with the project. Some of them came out utterly amazing some came out amazing- some more um, special. I don’t used the word “blessed” very much in my vocabulary- but I really truly believe in my heart of a thousand hearts that I am overwhelmingly blessed to get to spend even a second of my life with such an awesome group of people.

Here is a link to the photos on my flickr page.

So yeah, I am feeling better. Also its 10:46 a.m. on a Sunday and I have no intentions of getting out of my pajamas until its time to meet our friends for dinner—even then it’s a toss up if I am going to change out of them. It’s Portland right? I can wear anything to dinner.