Orientation session, and a hiccup…

Yesterday, I received an email from our agency giving us options to schedule our orientation session to kick off the home study.  There were plenty of options, and luckily we were available next week to go in (since it’s during the work day, it requires a little bit of shuffling with our schedules).  After I confirmed the date we were available, the agency sent back an email also letting us know when the full day training session would take place (which is part of the requirements the agency has to adopt through them).

Well, at first, I was excited…the date was in April, but we knew the home study would take a couple months, so this seemed right on track.  Then, I looked at the date again, and realized it was SMACK DAB in the middle of our cruise!  Not only would we not be in town during that session, we wouldn’t even be in the country!

I called the agency right away, frantic.  Would they be able to reschedule, or do another session for us?  What did this mean for our timeline?  One of the coordinators answered and I explained the situation.  Since we’re going with a smaller agency, they only work with 10 adoptive couples at a time during the home study process…and the usually only run a new home study group once a quarter.  She spoke with the head coordinator, who confirmed that they wouldn’t be able to accommodate a date change, or an extra session just for us, and that we would need to wait until the next session, at the end of the summer.  I thanked them and hung up, and nearly burst into tears.  I felt like this was just one more thing that would delay us…no matter where we turn, it’s one delay and disappointment after another.

I spoke with J to see if we could move the cruise up or back by a week, but that would require cancelling the cruise with only a 25% reimbursement of the costs, and then rebooking it from scratch…so basically paying for the cruise and flights twice.  That wasn’t really an option, as we don’t have extra money just lying around, and it seems wasteful.  So…we decided to keep the cruise where it was, go and enjoy ourselves, and then just come back at the end of summer and do the session then.  It wasn’t ideal in the least, and I definitely wasn’t happy with it, but…sometimes that’s just how things go.

I got home and decided to relax a bit.  I was glancing through my email and realized that the agency had emailed me back with further information.  After more discussion, the coordinators decided that we could still go ahead with the orientation session next week, start our home study and make our profile book, and still be shown to expectant mothers to be matched!  Basically, we could still move forward, full steam ahead, but we just had to come in at the next all-day training session to fulfill that requirement!  I was so pleased that nothing had to be delayed…I felt like God was really reaffirming that this was EXACTLY where he wanted us to be, and that our decision to adopt was absolutely the right thing for us.  Plus…what a relief to not have another delay!

So now…we’re back on track!  We have our orientation session next week, and our cruise in a little over a month!  I’m very excited for both…I can’t wait to get a start on the home study process and start ticking off boxes.  Plus, the cruise should be absolutely amazing!!  Sun, warmth, and new places to visit…what more could I ask for!

Much love,
K.