Future Plans.

When I last updated the travel blog, I mentioned casually that we hoped to have The Bee’s sister home from China by next summer. You might have thought I’d revealed state secrets for the wholesale kerfuffle that ensued. I had quite a few people–both within the blogging world and without–contact me, asking if I was serious, asking if they had read it wrong, wondering what was up.

Well, this is up: we’re absolutely going to adopt again. She will again be a child with cleft lip/palate from China. She will be younger than The Bee because, knowing The Bee as we now do, we feel it’s important she remain the oldest kiddo. We will be doing this soon. This was never a secret.

One of the reasons we chose to switch to the special needs program in the first place was so we could be assured of a second adoption. Had we stayed in the NSN line and not received a referral until 2009 or so, we wouldn’t have been able to complete a second, SN adoption because R. would already be aged out of the program. I usually think of our adoption of The Bee only as intensely felt; a leap of faith; emotionally charged. We found her and were changed. But, in this one regard, it was also pragmatic.

We think it’s important that The Bee have a sibling with a similar life story, so that they can share experiences and fears and doubts and triumphs. Thus, we’re going back to China. Thus, we’re again adopting a child with cleft lip/palate, rather than another special need. We want to create some common ground for them, despite the unknowns that will also be a part of their lives forever. When they have questions about their birthparents, about what the adoption means in terms of their identity, about what it means to grow up Asian-American in this culture, I want them to have a partner with experiences close to their own, a peer–in addition to parents–that they can bounce their thoughts off of.

We wanted to get through The Bee’s surgery before starting the process again. And, now, we’re through it. The social worker comes to the ranch in a month for the standard six-month post-placement report. We will ask her to use that visit to start our new homestudy. And we will begin the paperchase a second time (a thought that makes my heart wiggle with discomfort in its cavity).

I have contacted an agency that may very well be The One. They have a new program that is expedited above and beyond the already-expedited Waiting Child Program, so it’s possible we could travel by late spring or early next summer. It would be great to get over there before the Olympics because I still have some angst about China suspending adoptions for a time while they’re busy hosting the world. Ahem.

So, stay tuned. We could be seeing our younger daughter’s face in a matter of days. Another thought that makes my heart wiggle, although with decidedly more joy.