So here we are in the third trimester of our paper pregnancy!
When the U.S. finally gives their approval, then the Bulgarian government… who loves paperwork as much as ours does… will take their turn with the necessary paper pushing. I would love to fuss at the bureaucratic process – the hoops we have to jump through, the red tape we need to cut – but I know that each step is bringing this little man closer to being our very own son. Each signature signed, each box check… they are laboring to bring my little one into my arms and for that, I am eternally grateful. So while all of this is being done… we will sit here twiddling our thumbs. And doing some more praying….
The time when we wait and wait for our little one, all the while growing immense… in anticipation, at least. The morning sickness of paperwork is done with… except for occasional bouts every now and then. We have found out that it’s a boy and that he has the cutest little face. We have felt him move and squirm. We are ready for him to start his new life with us… beyond ready!
And labor pains! Well, they are labor pains of the heart. How we miss our little boy! If I could do anything to bring him even a little sooner, then yes, I would. But just like a real pregnancy, we must wait. We don’t know when exactly in the next four to six months that our son will come to us... but that doesn’t stop us from counting the days, the hours, the very seconds!
However, there is a very real growth process that needs to happen during this time. We cannot rush this process… as much as we may want to. Just as a baby matures in the womb until the time comes for it to enter this world… this adoption must mature and go full term before our little boy legally becomes part of our family.
First, U.S. immigration must finalize his citizenship so that the moment he sets foot on U.S. soil, he will become an American. The paperwork to make this happen is already in their hands and they are working at all the necessary governmental paper pushing. Being a governmental paper pusher myself, I know that this can be a lot of work. Governments all over the world seem to love forms, documents, signatures, and the whatnot. So all of this is being done… while we sit here twiddling our thumbs. And praying… praying that the work goes swiftly and without errors.
When the U.S. finally gives their approval, then the Bulgarian government… who loves paperwork as much as ours does… will take their turn with the necessary paper pushing. I would love to fuss at the bureaucratic process – the hoops we have to jump through, the red tape we need to cut – but I know that each step is bringing this little man closer to being our very own son. Each signature signed, each box check… they are laboring to bring my little one into my arms and for that, I am eternally grateful. So while all of this is being done… we will sit here twiddling our thumbs. And doing some more praying….
Once all of this is completed, our lawyers in Bulgaria will apply for a court date… sort of like our caesarean section date... and with the court's final decision and approval of our adoption, this little boy will be pulled out of fatherlessness and from being a ward of the state and breathe the air of sonship for the first time. Oh, what a day of rejoicing that will be for us! But he won’t even realize anything is different. He will still be in the orphanage. We will still be strangers that visited him months and months ago. We won’t even be there. He will not know that his life will be forever changed by this one day.
But the battle will be over. The labor finished. On that day, he will be ours. We will pack our bags (and one for him too!) and go and get him. All that will be left is the trip home from the hospital!
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