Friday, November 30, 2007

Life is a Roller Coaster


Ups and downs. Peaks and valleys. Good and bad. That's life. Its like a roller coaster ride. Come ride with me:

Adoption Update: "WAIT TIME FROM LID TO REFERRAL - The current waiting time from log in date until referral is 24 months. We fully expect the wait time from log in date to referral to grow over 2 years in 2008 and continue to climb over time to possibly 4 years." This is the update we received from our adoption agency today. They visited with the Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs (CCAA) recently and asked about the ever-increasing wait time from the moment the CCAA receives an approved family's dossier to the time they give a referral for a child. They said it is entirely possible for the wait time to be as long as four years!!! They claim that they receive over 1000 dossiers per month but can only process 600 per month. They went on to say that in April (two months before they received our dossier) the CCAA received 4000 dossiers. Four years, huh?

Missouri Tigers: Unless you live under a rock, you already know that Mizzou's football team is ranked #1 in the country. A win tomorrow night in the Big XII Championship will guarantee that the Tigers will play for the National Championship. Unbelievable. After being a Mizzou fan through the absolute worst of times, I am finally witnessing the very best of times. Talk about roller coasters!

My Mom: Mom has completed all of her scheduled radiation and chemotherapy treatments. She is feeling pretty good (all things considered). She is scheduled for follow-up CT scans and MRI's in mid December. We will find out then if the tumors are gone or if she will require more treatments. Keep her in your thoughts, please. Send her some positive vibes.

Brother Blake: Blake and Meredith just bought a house in Baltimore, Maryland. The week before closing, the mortgage company informed them that they needed a second inspection before they would approve the loan. Then, the day before closing, the same company insisted that Blake and Mer needed to cough up over $3,000 to cover taxes, etc that they never mentioned previously. Then, on closing day the movers showed up several hours late, forcing Blake and Mer to rent a U-Haul and finish the job themselves in order to be out of their old place in time for the new tenants to move in. The best part: The mortgage company misspelled "mortgage" in every appearance of the word in their contracts. Wow.

Alexander the Great: Tonight will be the official beginning to Alex's basketball career. His first practice will be held at his school's gym/lunch room. His mother and his aunt should be able to teach him how to throw elbows and get hit with technical fouls. I think he may be a power forward with his height advantage over his fellow players.


Joliet Jake Blues: Our four-legged son Jake has been "coughing" a lot lately so I took him to the vet Monday. She diagnosed him as having Congestive Heart Failure. He has fluid around his heart and possibly more in his lungs. I listened with a stethoscope to the heart murmur and labored breathing. It was painfully obvious. The doctor gave him Lasix to rid him of the excess fluid and another medicine to make him comfortable. She said he should be in intensive care were it not for the fact that at nearly 13 years of age, there is very little they can do for him that we can't. We are continuing his medications and were told to make sure he stays calm and relaxed to minimize the stress on his heart. (He sleeps 23 hours a day when he's healthy, so that won't be a problem.) With his dementia, bladder control issues, partial blindness and deafness, stiff joints, and failing heart, Ol' Jake may not have much longer to be with us. So if you come by the house sometime, be sure to tell the old guy "hello."

I used to hate roller coasters. But I learned that life is pretty boring on a straight track. I might as well sit back and enjoy the ride.

No comments: