Love Letters

During the latter part of our dating "career" N was at home in New Brunswick, Canada and I in Ethiopia. Long before mobile phones and internet hit the rural areas of Ethio, N and I were snail mailing it (Seriously, I still find it strange to be in a taxi with an Ethiopian grandma and her chickens, only to hear her mobile ring and her answer with a "a bait"). I have boxes and boxes of letters that we sent to each other during that time. Some are funny, some are depressing, and all speak of our love for each other and our longing to be together again (ok, you can stop reading if you are grossed out!). I often miss sending those kinds of letters to each other. Now we text message, facebook and e-mail and as of late, leave post-its on the mirror for each other. Those are all good and fine, but there is something about the written word that just feels very intimate.

Tonight we are tasked with our most important love letter. We have until tomorrow at 3:00pm to come up with a letter and photo for Y. We aren't so good with the picture taking, but our friend took the above photo last week and it is good enough! I'm not sure what one says to a three year old who has had her life turned upside down in the last few months with our comings and goings and her move to a new place. Of course we will tell her that we love her and miss her, but what does that mean to a three year old who can only see us through a picture?

We are longing for the time when we are together and we can care for her. And we can love her forever. And we can be her family in a real and tangible way.

Referral

Y was finally and officially referred to us today! (Just to remind everyone we have been patiently waiting for this moment for, um...awhile) It has been a long journey, people. Judging from the looks Y shared with us via her referral photos, things have been tough for her lately too! We did glean some new information from her paperwork:
Her birth date is August 3rd (August is THE birthday month in my family and extended family)
She needs to put on some weight (and we were worried about her candy consumption)
The spellings of her name are as varied as Bjork's wardrobe choices.

Summary:
Gladney (our adoption agency) is now working on our case.
Our paperwork will be submitted for a court date.
Our court date will come at an unknown, but hopefully soon, date!

Things are good!

Sidist

I enjoyed a lovely Ethiopian Easter Sunday in Asco in April. It was the first time in a long time that I have felt a sense of life while being in church. Worshiping (although I did not understand everything) in a congregation of children was a joy to be apart of. I could not help but think that perhaps this was what church truly should be. A place for orphans, the sick (all have HIV, but they sure don't "act" sick) and those who love and care for them.

I came across this photo today and happily remembered this day in April (Y "sat" in the service with me but kept screaming that she wanted candy, so I had to take her out early). I choose this photo to mark our 6th month of wait list life (4/1/09).

Come quickly referral. Come quickly.

Made for walking

Thank goodness for aunties! Y will be stylin!

Race Report---10K

Here is a *lovely* photo to go along with the report!

I ran my first ever 10K on Saturday! (59:53) It was a lovely day to run and a wonderful cause (Susan G Komen Race for the Cure). I ran in memory of my Aunt Lizzie who had breast cancer and passed away in 1999. She was a very special lady with a whole lot of class and tons of zeal for life! My cousins and I had talked about doing a race together in her memory, but it was not possible to do one all together given our diverse geographical locations. When my colleague (who was running in memory of her mother) asked me to run, I really wanted to do it. Despite my persistant foot pain, I was able to complete the run (albeit slowly) and I am so glad that I did. I really love races. I love the atmosphere and being around others who care about their own health and setting goals to accomplish. I love watching the super fast runners, but love the slow and steady ones as well. I just love to be in the middle of it. By dear friend came to cheer me on and then we binged on Mexican breakfast food post race. Can you get any better than that?

The future of my running? Well, the foot still hurts and I am fairly out of shape after 3 weeks off. However, I just love running and hope to do a 15K in November, but will not be running the 1/2 marathon in October!

Life and some of what it entails

I'm not sure why I haven't posted in several weeks! Y has been through a lot in the past three weeks, and we have been vicariously experiencing what we perceive her emotions to be during this time. Some good, some bad, some blah. Since last posting, she has been moved from one orphanage to another and all of her paperwork should now be complete. We imagine the move was life shaking for her and still feel a bit sad about it. We called one day to find out that she was no longer in the orphanage that she has always been at (!panic!), and two days later we got the news on where she was for sure. Many, many, many phone calls and e-mails to Addis helped us to figure out what was really going on and the status of the adoption. We now expect to receive our referral sometime this week if all goes as planned...and you know how that is!

Since last posting we have celebrated Ethiopian New Years, our 6th wedding anniversary, biked a whole lot, I attempted to run a little bit more and we have both continued with our jobs and life in general. Fall is totally here as I felt a strong chill in the air this morning!

Oh, and I went to Michael Jackson's birth house yesterday. Don't be jealous. I will post photos of that later!

"No good, man!"

(My favorite client in the whole world uses that expression to describe EVERYTHING!)

Guess what is a total pain in my world?

Plantar Fasciitis. I have it. Some kind of rocks-stuck-in-your-foot-and-you-want-to-die heel problem.It is so freaking painful and also apparently my fault, or so the kinda judgemental Physical Therapist explained. Something about not stretching enough, bad running shoes and increasing my mileage too fast. What? Me?

I am aiming to run the Detroit Free Press Half Marathon on the 18th of October with my friend MMG. I had dreams of a 1:59:59 pace. Not sure that will happen. It might be more like "kicked off the course because you ran too slow." No good, man!

Not only is this painful, it is sad, man! You see, I love to eat things like triple creme brie, sour cream and tortilla chips. (Separately, of course). This isn't just about running races, this is about obesity prevention, man!

My Bikram yoga teacher has kindly modified some of the poses for me so at least I can keep yoga-ing. Arg!

Anyone ever had this?