Ukraine Adoption

"This is the one"

The journey was long, the skies were gray and the wind was cold. Inside, the scene of families crammed in the waiting room and government workers walking briskly through hallways was surreal. It was finally our turn and we sat down at the desk with wide eyes and big hopes. John and I opened the large binder and saw page after page of photos and descriptions of children who need families. Many of the pages had sticky notes attached to indicate various illnesses recently diagnosed.

Our facilitator was speaking to the psychologist in Russian and then told us that a little girl just became available a few days ago. We stared at her file. We saw a smiling 10-month old with a sweet face. She had just turned 2 and lived in a Kyiv orphanage. We could stay in the big city instead of having to travel 17 hours by train or 6 hours in treacherous car ride to some far-flung region. Her report said she was healthy. We stared at her some more. "This is the one," we said.

That was three years ago today.