And the wait continues!
This week, several of my friends from the forums of which I'm participating, are expecting their referrals for adoption. I have no idea how they keep going with their daily lives, knowing that any day, any minute, they will be getting a call to advise them to come to their agency to review the referral of their child. I feel like we're in a never ending wait room for a labor that lasts 6 months. When we finally get our referral, (most likely in October....4 months and counting), it will be a scramble to catch up. I've already purchased a lot of really cute 2t clothes, but most likely they will be too large for her, even if she is 2 yrs old. So, we will be scrambling to get the right sized clothes, purchasing a crib/bed, and stocking up on diapers (also not sure of the size yet), all in the span of one month from referral to travel time.
It's going to be coooold in China during November also. We will most likely start in Hong Kong, or Shanghai, then move on to Gaunzhou, where the U. S. Consulate is located. Then fly to the Provence that our daughter is in....Then back to Gaunzhou. Now, here is where it will get interesting. Elderly Chinese women are notorious for being "clothing police". Even in springtime, when weather conditions are in the 70s, these women scold parents who are seen on the streets with their babies, but without 3 layers of clothes on them. They have earned the title, and appear to be proud to carry the clothing police badge. It's customary in China to bundle-up toddlers, with 8-10 layers of clothes during the winter months. Many referral pictures have the child so bundled up that they can't move their arms.
They remind me of the marshmallow man on Ghost Busters. I've been warned that, while in China, if we venture outside with our daughter, the clothing police grandma's will walk up to us and examine her layers of clothes, if there are less than 3 layers, a jacket and hat, ....We will be ticketed with an index finger shaken at us, and then promptly reprimanded in Mandarin. Apparently, they take their self proclaimed jobs very seriously.
I can't wait....really!!
