The Eleventh Hour

  It was down to the eleventh hour. As of Wednesday evening we were still waiting to hear when our court date would be. We had heard that our papers had made it to the Magistrate and that he was reviewing them, but unfortunately, no date had been set. My father was due to fly out on Thursday to Zambia and Markus was scheduled to fly home on Saturday. We worried that flights would need to be cancelled and rescheduled. Markus was worrying about work and I was wondering if our court date was ever going to happen. I also had this petrifying fear that Isaac could still be taken away from us. Until those papers are signed, nothing is a done deal, nothing is certain. With the missing police report, I worried endlessly that the legitimacy of the adoption would be called into question despite being assured repeatedly that an investigation had in fact been completed. We had been promised that we could meet with the lawyer that our adoption fees had paid for, but again we were disappointed and our contact here was no longer pursuing a meeting with the lawyer for fear that he was “pressuring” our social worker too much. What about our pressure and fears, I wanted to scream. I felt ill with worry, stress, and frustration.

  The next morning, January 16^th, will forever be in my mind as we received the best news of our lives. Felix stopped by our place to let us know that our papers had been signed!!! We didn’t even need to go to court! I couldn’t believe it and immediately burst into tears. I think my emotion has been concerning, frustrating, and very strange to Felix, but there was no controlling the absolute relief I felt at that moment. It was as though all the months of stress were literally pouring out of me. When Isaac woke up from his nap a few minutes later, it was amazing to pick him up and know that he was officially my son. He’s been my son since the moment I first laid eyes on his photo all those months ago in my office at work, but to make it official, was something special. Once Felix left, after giving us detailed instructions on the next steps (birth certificate and passport), Markus, Isaac, and I had a family hug and then a little dance party. I think Isaac could see our happiness and although he may not understand the reason, he was all smiles as well.

Our first "official" family photo after a celebratory nap.