New Obsession

It seems that each stage of this wait brings on some new obsession. Now I can’t stop staring at pictures of my boy. I find myself using the zoom function on my phone to get a closer look at his eyes, his nose, his hands and just about everything about him. The more I look at him the closer I feel. I have also realized how lucky we are to have so many pictures of him. It seems most people I know from other agencies only get 1 or 2 photos with their referral. Gladney sent us 11 photos of him that were taken from late April to early May and we also have two photos of him from when he first arrived at Gladney’s care center. Those two photos bring tears to my eyes each time I look at them. Everyone who sees a picture of him comments on his eyes. They are so big and beautiful. I think part of it is that he is still growing into his eyes so they really pop but I’ll enjoy this stage while it lasts. I found out this morning that my friend, Maribeth, met him while she was at the Gladney center picking up her boys in early March. She clearly remembered him and sent me an amazing email describing him and her interactions with him. Even though I was at work I just let the tears flow. I was so excited to have this added information about him. It gave me chills to know that she touched his face and held his hand. I will finally get to meet Maribeth and her family this weekend! We’ll be cheering on the Columbus Crew and I am sure I will distract her from the game asking questions about my boy.

Earlier this week I sent his second care package to the Carter Family. They are leaving in about a week and I’m so thankful they will deliver it to him and give him kisses from us! I am thinking that Heidi has already met him and delivered care package #1. Again, I just get the chills. For his second care package, I sent a little blanket thingy and another outfit. I thought they were both pretty cute.

Now we wait again. This time we wait for a court date in Ethiopia. It seems the average wait time for a court date is about 2 months. We will have to travel for the court date and I’m trying to focus on the fact that I get to meet him and not that I’ll have to leave him. I honestly just can’t take my brain there. The emotions surrounding that just overwhelm me. Instead, I will just continue to stare at photos of him and cling to the hope that someday he will be in my arms for good.