My Aching Neck...

I must say - I beat myself up pretty good this week. I started off with a 3 mile run on Monday in the "blistering" 79 degree weather, which as you know is pretty warm for this time of year, especially for the East Coast. That was followed by some good ol' P90 X on Wednesday (I could barely walk after) – and then I rowed at 7AM on Saturday followed by an intense hour-and-a-half row on Sunday morning.

And while all of these workouts felt great and serve as a way for me to let out all of my frustrations – I overdid it just a little bit on Sunday. A woman I row with challenged us to a push-up/ab session on the dock. First problem right there... doing sit-ups on a wooden dock – definitely not the best idea. Needless to say,  after it was all done, I started to feel a slight twinge in the back of my neck, which soon turned into a full-blown "I can't turn my head to either side and where the HELL are the muscle relaxers!!!"

My aching neck is very similar to how I feel about our little adoption journey.

In the beginning, everything (just like working out) is exhilarating and feels good, and then a few months down the road, that little ache starts to set in. First with the paperwork… running around getting everything notarized, getting fingerprinted, the faxes, the letter writing, the photo copies…  the endless FED Ex envelopes. And although you find a little reprieve in between – when your dossier is sent in and USCIS finally approves your application – that ache soon returns and starts to move down your shoulder and into your back, until you can barely move your head.

That's how I feel right now, like we're stuck in a rut, and I can't turn my head in either direction because it's too painful.

Do we submit a dual application to Burundi, which like I said is pilot program, and while promising, has many unknowns. And if we do go down that road, it could mean the end of our dreams of adopting from Ethiopia, at least for now – because once a referral comes in from one country, you are immediately taken off the list for the other country.

Or, do we just sit still and wait to see what happens with the Ethiopia program? As our agency said on a recent conference call, "The good news is that overall the feeling is there is still a great need for adoptions in Ethiopia, and this is a necessary and viable program. It could take longer to bring your child home after a referral (18-24 months), which likely means kids will spend more time in orphanage care and will be older when they do finally come home, but it is still a viable program."

Well, with that said, and my neck still aching, Ken and I started to sort through the paperwork over the weekend for Burundi. So I guess this means, the aching is going to stick around for a bit longer in my neck... and as cheesy at it sounds, in my heart as well.

I will update you on the so-called "paper chase" in my next entry. Until then, let's hope those muscle relaxers kick-in!

p.s.

I can't get enough of this song... Even if you're not a Sex and the City Fan (it's the last song that plays in the series finale) - it just makes you want to turn the volume up!