STILL waiting for permission to travel . . .

The next set of referrals is officially on its way to the United States. I'm very happy for these people. I sure hope they don't have to wait as long as we have to go meet their children! I'm tired of waiting. (Yeah, I know-- a real shocker.) I knew this adoption thing was going to be more of a marathon than a sprint (I'm not much of a sprinter anyway), but I'm tired of all the waiting. . .

Speaking of marathons and sprints, I have been training for the America's Finest City Half Marathon (held here in San Diego August 20th) since mid-May. I haven't actually signed up to run it yet because I was under the impression I might actually be in China August 20th. I began training for this half-marathon because of the introduction of the Triple Crown this year. People who run and complete the Carlsbad Half, the La Jolla Half, and the AFC in a single year (one is in January, one in April, the third in August), earn a special medal called the Triple Crown. I wanted to earn it. There is a special ceremony and everything. In my mind's eye, Jason would be there with Marcie and Casey to cheer me on during the easy (read: flat) part of the course in downtown San Diego. Casey would be yelling, "GO MOMMY!" and Marcie would be staring at all the random people in the crowd and wondering how she ended up there. Then, they would find me after the race before the ceremony and Casey would tell me I was "chow" (the pronunciation of the word "stinky" in Cantonese). And I would be. But I'd be happy because I'd have my family there rooting for me.

Well obviously that's not going to happen. I have begun to think I may actually be able to run this third race -- sans Marcie. If I miss it, I won't mind. Marcie is an excellent reason to miss the race. If I run it, it'll be a great story some day (I ran a half marathon and met Marcie X days later-- this is the story I tell about Casey all the time: I ran a marathon and Casey was born 3 days later! It's the truth, too!)

Anyway, we're keeping busy during this part of the wait . . . but that hasn't kept me from focusing on the fact that we are still waiting.