Just this week we got some unsettling news about the adoption. We’d been told in the middle of August that it was most likely we’d get a referral from Ethiopia in about five months, which would have been January, with our trip to Addis being one to two months thereafter. Now it seems that it’ll be nine to eleven months from now — which is June to August — again with travel one to two months beyond the referral date (August to October). And it’s possible that it could be even later.

My wife was very upset with this news, and I’m not too happy about it myself. I realize that I’d built up an expectation around the dates, and it’s painful to have to readjust. Still, the only thing we can do to stay sane is to let go of our expectations. There’s nothing we can do to make the referral time come sooner.

In the meantime I’m interested in preparing as best I can. Last week we met a lovely local family who adopted a three-year-old girl, Kaly, from Ethiopia last year. Kaly was a delight — very sweet and smart. It was a surprise to find out that it’s common in Ethiopia for infant girls to have their uvula (the little dangly bit at the back of the throat) excised!

I also just read the first chapter of There Is No Me Without You, a very well-written account of AIDS orphans in Ethiopia. The first chapter is available online as a PDF file. I saw the book in Barnes and Noble last night, but couldn’t quite persuade myself to part with the $25.

Lastly, I have an online meditation student from Addis! Did you know that it was New Year in Ethiopia this week? They’re on the Julian calendar, and it just turned 1999 there (cue Prince). They also have a different way of measuring the time, which is going to be confusing when we get over there. I wonder if I can buy a watch that shows Ethiopian time?