How can you stand the wait?

This is an understandable question we've been asked a lot lately. The truth is that I think we are handling the wait pretty well. It goes without saying that we'd go get Andrew tomorrow if we could. Since that's not likely to happen, we are determined to make the best of the situation.

We knew going into this adoption that it would be different from China and we'd have to wait 6 months after our referral to travel. At the time we signed up, I did think this would be miserable. I think it has been easier because not too long ago we faced the reality that we may not even get a referral. We went through the holiday season being told our adoption was an "if" not a "when" by our agency. There was an added joy to getting Andrew's referral because we didn't really think it was going to happen. The other thing is that International Adoption scene as a whole is having a rough time. Many of the older, more established programs are having difficulties or shutting down. Guatemalan adoptions face a very uncertain future. The Chinese program is going to take 3+ years. Vietnam, which we were very close to selecting, unfortunately is having difficulties and will likely shut down in September. So, while we take no joy in seeing other adoptive parents struggle, it does help us keep the wait between referral and travel in perspective.