Application? Check!

We did it! Today we completed Step 2 of our adoption process and our application has been sent off!

Right now, the whole thing still feels a bit surreal. I'm trying to think of momentous words to use to mark the occasion and am falling way short. Perhaps it's because it doesn't feel real yet. I sense it won't really feel real until we have a child safely in our arms.

When I hiked my way up out the Grand Canyon a few years back, I recall looking up and thinking, "Damn, that's a long way up." I measured the day by turns in the path, one foot plodding in front of the other, pushing the panicked "Will I get up there in time?" thoughts to the side, as I shoved way too many Power Bars into my mouth. (I was on the Green Tortoise bus headed east and it was leaving that night, thus the panic.) Much later that day, a couple of hours from the top, I was so wiped, that making it to the top in time seemed less and less likely. Luckily, a fellow from India who'd only hiked a couple of hours from the top and was on his way back up stopped and asked if I needed help. "Oh, no, I'm fine," I valiantly lied. (Why do we say such things??) He looked at me with an amused smile in his eyes and said, "No, actually, you're not fine. Give me your pack." I made some lame arguments and he kindly but firmly insisted that he help me. He took over my pack (how amazing it felt to have that weight off!) and told me stories of his childhood in India as we scaled the last two or so hours of the trail together. At the top, I looked at him with embarrassed gratitude. He handed me my pack and kindly winked and said, "Have a great life!" Then he turned away, and walked off in a very Highway to Heaven mysterious way.

The point to this rambling story was that my faith in humanity was permanently altered that day. Just when I thought I couldn't make it, someone literally helped carry a great weight. (I know...this metaphor is really working, isn't it??) We've had so many people there for us already in some pretty dark times, and I know that we won't be on this new trail alone, so thanks joining us on our blog!

Okay, metaphor over. Metaphors are cool, but they can sometimes get syrupy and annoying, and I think I've hit the cusp.