July, August 2000: We got our provincial approval letter the first week in July. Next, I took several pictures of Rob and Matthew inside and outside of our house, and of Matthew at the park. When these were ready, I forwarded the dossier to Yulin. However, I had completely forgotten that the Chinese government needed to have photocopies of pages 2 and 3 of "current" passports. We didn't have passports, period. I had been thinking it would be months and months before we'd be travelling to China, so there was no rush for passports. WRONG! We picked up the passport forms, filled them out, had our photos done, got our dentist to sign the paperwork, and hand-delivered the forms to the passport office in Hamilton. They were ready in three weeks and we picked them up. I copied the required pages and Xpress-posted them to Yulin on Aug. 4. She had everything translated, notorized and sent to Beijing by August 13, our official dossier-to-China date. There were about sixteen people in our group-- single women and other couples. In August, upon the advice of a friend of mine who was in the process of adopting from Guatemala, I sent off for the Immigration Canada forms to "Sponsor a Family Class Relative." We only had to pay $100.00 to submit this form, since it was for an adoption, but if we made a mistake, we'd have to pay again to resubmit it with the correction. The financial part of this form was a nightmare. They wanted letters from employers, pay stubs for the past twelve months, which I hadn't kept, T-4 slips, a letter from Revenue Canada stating we did not owe any taxes from last year, records of interest payments to credit cards, loan payments, insurance payments, etc. It took me the whole month of August to get all this stuff together, fill out the forms and send it all off. I did end up making a mistake. One section asked what consulate you wished to deal with. I was thinking " Immigration Office" and I wrote: "The one closest to Oakville." About a week after I'd sent the forms in, a lady from Immigration called. She said that Chinese adoptions were generally handled by the consulate in Beijing, but that the one in Buffalo was closest to Oakville. I felt like an idiot, however, she just made the change on the form for me. I was so happy to get that whole thing off my hands. Now, all we could do was . . . wait . . . .
September, 2000: This month, I joined two email groups for people who are in the process of adopting, or who have already adopted, from China. One was the August DTC group, the other was the A-Parents-China list. The second of these was very strange. I discovered in a hurry that our American friends are very excitable and very U.S.-centric. On a list supposedly devoted to discussing issues related to adopting from China, they were having fights about politics, Dr. Laura, religion, agencies; you name it, somebody was psychotically opinionated about it. (I myself could care less if somebody insulted or denigrated the politician for whom I'm planning to vote. Why would I care? They aren't, after all, personal members of my family.) As for the religious aspects of agencies in the U.S.-- if you're a religious person, choose one; if you're not, don't. What's the big deal? I wanted to tell them all to take a "chill-pill," but I didn't want them "cyberspacially" shrieking at me. I finally ended up unsubscribing from the second list, but I'm still a member of the first. To be fair, the second list does have a lot of good information, but I can get it elsewhere, especially from the very supportive and knowledgeable August DTC group.
October, 2000: We're not really doing much this month, in terms of our adoption. Mostly, we're going to be in a "holding pattern" for the next seven - nine months. I'm keeping very busy at school-- the marking and prepping for Senior English courses is very time-consuming, and Rob's very busy with his maintenance and renovation company. It goes without saying that Matthew takes up most of our free time. He's taking swimming lessons and each night, we practise printing his numbers and letters. He's spending a lot of time drawing pictures and colouring, which will help to develop his fine motor skills. We also took him to an appointment at Sick Children's Hospital this month. His right leg is a little bit longer than his left-- it has been since he was born, but so far, the difference has remained constant. We're thinking he may have to have a lift in one shoe to make him more balanced for running. Sick Kids is going to monitor it for us through x-rays and regular appointments over the years as he continues to grow. The people who are on my email list for August DTC are getting impatient already with the long wait. I'm very glad I have Matthew. I don't have much time to think about how much I want my daughter.
November, 2000: We've all had our flu shots. I had mine in September, as soon as the vaccine was available. Matthew has to have a second one in four weeks. He's also had all of his Hep B shots. Rob and I have had two of the series. We took combination B and A shots, because I figure the extra protection can't hurt. I definitely want to avoid getting sick in China at all costs and being diabetic adds to my worries. I'm going to get a lot of advice from my diabetic specialist regarding how to adjust my insulin dosages to the time changes, etc., when we go. I also have to remember to get a letter from her that says I am a diabetic and that I will be carrying insulin, syringes and blood-testing equipment with me. I had one of those letters when I went through Europe in 1984, but I never had to show it. Still, it's best to be prepared. I find myself wondering about my future daughter a lot this month. Has she been born yet? If she hasn't been born, what is her mother going through? If she has, what care is she receiving in the orphanage? Is she ever held; cuddled; rocked? I'll never know the answers to most of these questions.
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