First Steps... then Next Steps...

So... what will I write here? I must say that I'm a bit nervous about the blogging thing and not sure I'll be able to keep it up. In part, I don't like that I can't password-protect it without having my own server (which I don't). But I'll try it and we'll see where it goes....

So, here's big news some of you already know about. I am moving to a different stage of the adoption thinking process, as I may have already mentioned at some point. I'm guessing you all know that I've thought about it for quite a while (for about 8 years now, since middle of grad school) as an option as I got older. Well, that day of being "older" is either here already or fast approaching. This spring/summer has been a wild and sad and eye-opening and soul-searching and jarring and perspective-giving journey for me, with my mother passing away on June 11, and it brings me to a different place in the world. So, for several weeks I've been thinking about this and have decided to get into the next stage of this adoption process, which, for me, is called Serious Thinking/Planning. :) I have done some minimal research and talked to some others who can help with information/advice/support in various ways (including my sister Becky) and have settled on a tentative plan and timeline. Here it is: I think I will begin the process around January/February of 2007 (NOT this coming January!!!), a little less than 18 months from now. Based on the preliminary info I have, I think I'll adopt a newborn-ish (0-3 months) child from Guatemala - a girl. With their typical timeline, that means I would have Sweet Little Guatemalan Baby Girl around April or May of 2007 (she'd have been born around February 2007...?), a little less than 2 years from now. THEN I should have the summer off, of course, and have (hopefully) a lighter schedule in the Fall of 2007 (with January 2008 off) so that, ideally, Guatemalan Baby won't have to be in full-time daycare until she's almost a year old. Pretty cool. So, that's that - for now. I'm not keeping it a secret (although it's all very preliminary at this point), so no need to keep it under wraps if you talk to other people. It's a huge decision and a big life-changing event, and as a single mom, it's going to be exciting and scary and challenging in all sorts of other ways, but I feel ready (as ready as I'll ever be anyway!) and I'm really excited that the "right time" for me is getting closer now.

BTW, so many of my friends have kids that I already know day care situation around here. The very best one in Maryville is First Baptist (ugh), which is also the cheapest, ironically, at $120/week for infants then DE-creasing from there as the child gets older. As you might imagine, there is a VERY LONG waiting list, so after doing some checking, I have found out that this means I will need to get ON the waiting list in August 2006 (beginning of academic year - and only one year from now!). Wild! That means, though, that I'll beat most of the pregnant ladies who'll have babies that age, since my personal gestation period should be about 20 months from now. ;)