Time...

Goes…so…slowly…when…you…are…waiting.

Well, here we are folks, all our documents are done, our bags are packed and we are just waiting those last few hours before we are picked up to go to the airport.

It’s hard to believe we’re leaving. We’ve developed a whole new realm of “normal” for ourselves. As in, it’s normal to not really know what you’ve ordered for supper and it’s normal to have to stand for minutes at a street sign to sound out the letters so you have a clue where you’ve gotten yourself. It’s also normal to look ten times before crossing the street and have much too close of an understanding of how gophers in Saskatchewan must feel.

And, it’s normal to be full time parents with nothing else to do all day but make sure our little guy is happy, healthy and knows just how much he is loved and just how privileged we feel to be given the opportunity to be his parents.

So, what will we miss? Well, lots and probably most of it we won’t even realize for many more days to come. But, at the top of our list:

*The people at the baby house, both the staff and all of the wonderful other adoptive families we have met and shared this experience with. Although we are very much looking forward to seeing our families again, we also feel that we are leaving some new family behind as they continue their adventure in other directions.

*The wonderful coordinators and translators that we have worked with here that have helped make our dreams come true. They do not take enough credit for all of their hard work and dedication.

*The scenery, especially the moon peeking over the mountains and shining on the river across the street from our apartment in Ust.

*Learning about another country and culture first hand. Seeing how other people really live, not how their lives are portrayed in a distilled book or internet version. And yes, to some degree, the language. Although it has been trying at times, to say the least, it has also given us a definite sense of accomplishment to know that we could survive on our own and could learn at least a tiny bit of another language.

*The yogurt. ‘Nuff said. (and butter, and full sugar soda - all of the things we generally don't indulge in at home.)

Anyway, our goal is to get at least a couple of hours rest before we are picked up for the airport, so we’d best sign off and do our best to accomplish this feat.

Catch you on the flip side!