When we were in Niger, it always amazed me that the ticket taker for bush taxis was able to determine that 27 people could fit into a 12 seat van. We would buy our ticket and climb into a row thinking that it was a tight squeeze at three of us with a small child on one lap. Then, he’d waive additional people in there who were always carrying extra bags, extra animals or extra food. Sure enough, by the time we went to the gas station to fill up for the journey ahead, my legs were numb and everyone had settled into the various cracks that previously existed until we looked like a stuffed Volkswagen full of clowns, ready to burst at the seams.
When I wrote on July 24th about our lesson in the size of
the colony it was going to take to grow a family through adoption, we thought
we were maxing it out with the addition of an attorney. Today, I’m reminded of
those helpless feelings of despair as I locked eyes with one of those bush taxi
ticket takers who shot me a knowing look that threatened that I could hope all
I want, but he wasn’t done shoving people in yet.
We learned that our hired attorney isn’t up to the job of shuffling enough
paperwork to get this done transparently and that we now get to add a California agency to
the party. Our hired attorney is willing to do just enough for us to fly home
with Meadow and then wait a year to finalize the adoption, instead of six
months. She’s proposing a type of adoption that requires less of her and more
acceptance of risk from us, oh and keeping it relatively quiet that we’re doing
it this way.
After five years of trying to get pregnant, our loss last year and the
nine month journey it has taken us to get this far with the addition of Meadow,
anyone who suggests that we just keep quiet about this and fly home under the
radar of the California Department of Human Services can take a long walk on a
short pier.
When (not if) our baby is born and in our care, we are going to SCREAM
our way home with her! Everyone who reads this will know. The states of
California and Colorado will know. And, in our hearts, we’ll know we’re growing
our family in a loving, legal way, not sneaking in a new member over state
lines. We feel strongly that we deserve to be proud new parents and we anxiously
await introducing her to the world.
Yes, it is getting cramped in here. Travelers in a bush taxi accept
their fate and buckle down for the journey ahead, knowing that they will get
there eventually, if uncomfortably. You just have to find a way to fold up into
a pretzel and rest your weary head on the pot of sauce in the lap of the person
sitting next to you. It’s a messy and stinky ride, full of people heading in
different directions ultimately, but home awaits us at the other end.
Yes, they really pack 'em in that tight!
