Okay, I have a blog!
Okay, I have a blog! I've spent the last couple of months reading lots of other blogs about China adoption experiences and I've learned so much from what others have shared. I guess I just wanted to document my experience as well, for Jillian (eventually) and for my friends and family. So, it's really not 'Just for Jillian' but I liked the way that sounded!
I decided to adopt in September of this year. As my 38th birthday was looming, I was asking myself, "What are you going to do with the rest of your life?" I'm happy with my career as a elementary school teacher, and I love my home and my dogs. I've recorded my own CD and opened locally for several national country acts, and I just took my first trip to Europe this last summer. Life is good, but it's not what I ever expected it to be.
I always though that I'd be married with children by now, and I was terribly frustrated to think that I'd not have a family of my own if things continued to be as they have been. When I imagined having a family of my own, adoption was always something I was open to and I hoped that I'd marry a man who felt the same way. After being in the classroom for ten years, I know that I don't have to be related genetically to children to love them. Anyway, I'm not sure exactly how the idea came to settle in my heart, but I decided that I wanted to be a mom for the rest of my life. I shared my idea with my mother and some good friends and I received a lot of encouragement.
I sent away for an information package from AWAA, and ordered a copy of National Geographic's China's Lost Girls with Lisa Ling. If I hadn't already made up my mind about adopting from China, that DVD really sealed the deal for me. It was just such a powerful depiction of what's going on in China, and how families are being made here in America as a result. I've watched it several times with friends and I still cry every time I see it.
So, I sent off my application to AWAA earlier this month, and I learned this last Monday that I'm on their singles waiting list. Thankfully, their waiting list is just a few weeks long, and so I will begin my 'paper pregnancy' sometime next month! I've heard that things have been taking longer on the China side of things, so I'm excited to get my part of the process (mountains of paperwork) started and completed as soon as humanly possible.
In the meantime, I begin my masters program in just a week and a half. The coming year is sure to be a busy one!
I decided to adopt in September of this year. As my 38th birthday was looming, I was asking myself, "What are you going to do with the rest of your life?" I'm happy with my career as a elementary school teacher, and I love my home and my dogs. I've recorded my own CD and opened locally for several national country acts, and I just took my first trip to Europe this last summer. Life is good, but it's not what I ever expected it to be.
I always though that I'd be married with children by now, and I was terribly frustrated to think that I'd not have a family of my own if things continued to be as they have been. When I imagined having a family of my own, adoption was always something I was open to and I hoped that I'd marry a man who felt the same way. After being in the classroom for ten years, I know that I don't have to be related genetically to children to love them. Anyway, I'm not sure exactly how the idea came to settle in my heart, but I decided that I wanted to be a mom for the rest of my life. I shared my idea with my mother and some good friends and I received a lot of encouragement.
I sent away for an information package from AWAA, and ordered a copy of National Geographic's China's Lost Girls with Lisa Ling. If I hadn't already made up my mind about adopting from China, that DVD really sealed the deal for me. It was just such a powerful depiction of what's going on in China, and how families are being made here in America as a result. I've watched it several times with friends and I still cry every time I see it.
So, I sent off my application to AWAA earlier this month, and I learned this last Monday that I'm on their singles waiting list. Thankfully, their waiting list is just a few weeks long, and so I will begin my 'paper pregnancy' sometime next month! I've heard that things have been taking longer on the China side of things, so I'm excited to get my part of the process (mountains of paperwork) started and completed as soon as humanly possible.
In the meantime, I begin my masters program in just a week and a half. The coming year is sure to be a busy one!
posted by Joannah @ 5:47 PM
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