Ukraine Adoption

Anticipation

So the new adoption center in Ukraine has been functioning for one month now, and so far, no one has an appoinment. The center promised to fit all of the registered families in by the end of December. August has been the new magic month. Families were told last month to send a letter confirming their intent to adopt, notarized and apostilled by their state governments and shippped overseas. Whew. Then the center required families to list all of their updated documents, notarized and apostilled. One more hoop. But the families that are anxiously waiting don't mind so much; they are happy to see any movement at all.

So is August the magic month? Will the center use the Fed Ex envelopes that U.S. families sent in with applications, or regular snail mail and make prospective parents wait for weeks to hear about an appointment in, say, September? Ah, the excitement of international adoption. It's not for the faint of heart. Or the thin skinned. The message boards have noticeably quieted down. This probably means people are scrambling for one or two or five more documents that they need. Their bodies are going through the motions (again) but their minds are on one thing: their new but yet unknown sons and daughters who are still waiting for them, thousands of miles away.