Yesterday, I received a note from the post office saying I had a registered letter to pick up. Unfortunately I didn't have time to pick it up before the PO closed. So this morning, on my way to grab a quick coffee & bagel before a meeting, I dropped by the PO - and I see it's an envelope from Alberta Children Services.
So, while driving from the PO to get my brekky, I'm fumbling to open the envelope and my phone rings. I'm on handsfree and don't bother to check who's calling - I just answer. It's Liz, my Adoption Options social worker. Now, I almost panic, thinking, does she know something I don't know? Is there a problem with my homestudy?
Nope, Liz calls to ask if I'm going with anyone to see Stephen Lewis. I say nope, just by myself and I'll meet some people there. Then she asks if she can come with me as her husband now has a prior commitment. I say "Sure, that would be great!" So we decide to meet up for coffee before heading down to the church.
While we are talking I have pulled the documentation out of the envelope. I tell Liz, this is extraordinary timing! The homestudy that she wrote for me has been officially APPROVED by ACS!! YAAYYY!!!!
The letter to the Ethiopian government states I am "... suitable to be considered for the adoption of a healthy female child up to 12 months of age, from Ethiopia. It is the understanding of this Department that the proposed adoption will be finalized in Ethiopia. The child then enters Canada as Hazel _____'s legal child."
I have a lump in my throat.
We talk some more.
I go back to work.
