If you have a long memory, you might vaguely recall that there's a child in Haiti that my husband and I visited last December, and we'd talked about trying to adopt him. What's up with that?
The process of international adoption is slow. And it's very cumbersome in terms of paperwork. We started our paperwork in January and finished it in May, although "finished" is a relative term, as this latest update shows. We recently got this email from the agency we're working with:
For us, the trickiest part of taking care of this one piece of paper was finding a time when my husband and I were both together at the same time that a notary was available -- that's probably a sad commentary on how hectic our work schedules are. But we were just thrilled to find a half-hour time slot that actually worked: 10:30-11:00 on a Friday morning, right after my husband got a crown for his tooth, and right before I met with my calculus students. And that thrill of making the schedule work is probably an appropriate commentary on why we like living this hectic life. Woo-hoo!
After we got the papers notarized ($10), we had to wait for the state holiday to pass. On Tuesday, my husband took a day off of work to go first to Harrisburg to get the apostille ($15), and then to New York City to get the document officially approved at the Haitian consulate ($25). Then we mailed it off ($36 via Fed Ex) to our adoption agency. Toss in 450 miles of travel, plus $45 in parking and tolls, and we're talking about a mildly expensive piece of paper, eh?
And that's where the adoption stands now, waiting for the the right paperwork to grind its way through that particular mill.
The process of international adoption is slow. And it's very cumbersome in terms of paperwork. We started our paperwork in January and finished it in May, although "finished" is a relative term, as this latest update shows. We recently got this email from the agency we're working with:
This is an important, action required email.
We are requesting that a revised Power of Attorney document be added to your dossier in order to accommodate changes on our legal team. The document we need is attached in both English and French. It needs to be personalized with your information (both versions) and then notarized, authenticated by the Secretary of State, and legalized at the Haitian Consulate assigned to your state.One more little piece of paper. (Well, two really; one in English, one in French).
For us, the trickiest part of taking care of this one piece of paper was finding a time when my husband and I were both together at the same time that a notary was available -- that's probably a sad commentary on how hectic our work schedules are. But we were just thrilled to find a half-hour time slot that actually worked: 10:30-11:00 on a Friday morning, right after my husband got a crown for his tooth, and right before I met with my calculus students. And that thrill of making the schedule work is probably an appropriate commentary on why we like living this hectic life. Woo-hoo!
After we got the papers notarized ($10), we had to wait for the state holiday to pass. On Tuesday, my husband took a day off of work to go first to Harrisburg to get the apostille ($15), and then to New York City to get the document officially approved at the Haitian consulate ($25). Then we mailed it off ($36 via Fed Ex) to our adoption agency. Toss in 450 miles of travel, plus $45 in parking and tolls, and we're talking about a mildly expensive piece of paper, eh?
And that's where the adoption stands now, waiting for the the right paperwork to grind its way through that particular mill.
I admire your generous hearts. I wish everything go fine in the process of adoption.
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