Zoikes!

I received the following from my adoption agency in response to my inquiry about my dossier status.

Megan, just received your final paperwork last week. We are currently authenticating it, and we will send to Russia as soon as that process is completed. Hopefully we'll have it back from the Secretary of State's office before we go off for the Thanksgiving weekend so it can be sent to Russia on Wednesday. If it doesn't come back, then it will go to Russia next Monday. It then takes about 3 weeks for translations and authentications, and then registration. From December 29- January 10 is when the Russians celebrate their Christmas, so pretty much nothing goes on. So, I would guess that you would be invited to Russia sometime during the last part of the month of January for travel in February or early March. Certainly that could change depending on the availability of children in Moscow District, but since you are open to either a boy or a girl, I am fairly confident you will be traveling before March of 2008, most likely in February.

After the initial visit and acceptance, we wait 6 weeks and then go back to Moscow to bring Baby the Great home. So maybe mid-March to April will be the last step? Wow. I'm a bit blown away at the moment. China was so vague and so far away and now it looks like I will have be dipping B the G's toes in the Atlantic Ocean this summer.

Once bitten, twice shy and I still hesitate to get too excited or buy baby furniture or send out announcements or choose names. I think Justin expected me to be more excited and I am, but I still feel wary. Cautious. Nervous. Will I feel this way until I'm flying Aeroflot back to the ATL with B the G on my lap? Definitely if we are forced to fly Aeroflot, but that's another story. In relation to B the G, probably, just in lessening degrees of intensity. But I will allow myself to do the Cotton-Eyed Joe dance in the privacy of my own living room, when nobody else is home. Dig if you will a picture....