Friendship

I am one of those lucky people that shares my life with built-in best friends....my sisters, Mary Beth and Patti. My family is extremely close....some might even say obnoxiously close....but I wouldn't have it any other way. My sisters and I talk on the phone every day and see each other as often as humanly possible. Since we live near each other that means at least once a week...but usually more!

My mother always taught us as we were growing up that there was nothing more important than family. Sometimes when we asked to have friends over my mother would ask, "Why? You have each other to play with." I guess that could have backfired but it didn't. What my mother created was a family that loves spending time together. We don't have to be doing anything special and it doesn't have to be a special occasion.....having all of us under one roof is special enough.

Each year my family vacations together in the Outer Banks. The whole family is together; Dad, Mary Beth, Ed, and their kids, Don and his kids, Patti, Dave and their kids, Tony and I...and this year Lily!! This is always the best week of my entire year. Not because we're at the beach...but because we're all together!

I have also been very blessed to have met my friend Laura over 20 years ago. Yes, you guessed it....we met in pre-school! I've written about Laura here before, but I haven't shared what a wonderful support she has been to me during this very long wait.

Laura is incredibly thoughtful and has taken such an active interest in our adoption. When Laura and I talk on the phone she never fails to ask how everything is going. It was never a simple "Have you heard anything, yet?". It was more along the lines of "How are you doing? I know this wait must be so hard. Have you had a Waiting Parents meeting recently? How'd it go? Hang in there. I know it must be so hard but hopefully it wont be too much longer until you have Lily in your arms." You get the idea.

During this long wait Laura has sent me countless cards. Several of them have been lovingly "modified" to exactly fit our situation. I'm thinking she could give Hallmark a run for their money. I've kept every card and someday Lily will know just how much her Aunt Laura was waiting for her, too. My hope is that Lily will be lucky enough to share her life with a friend like Laura.

I have also met some amazing "cyber-friends" during this journey. Before starting this process my use of the Internet was pretty much limited to Google, MapQuest, etc. I had never been in an Internet forum or chat room....honestly, the thought of them really gave me the creeps.

During one of our Waiting Parent meetings another Waiting Mom told me about the Rumor Queen site and suggested that I give it a visit. Part of the site has a forum that is dedicated to LID (log in date) groups. The October 2005 LID forum has been a wonderful source of support for me. Elaine, Kim, Diana, and others I have met in this forum have shared all the ups and downs of this very long and emotional wait with me. They understood firsthand the sadness of facing another Christmas without our daughters at home. They know the frustration of redoing needless paperwork. They understood the bittersweet feeling of missing the referral cutoff date by just a few days. They also understood the pure joy of receiving referrals and we are still rejoicing together. Several of my friends, with LIDs later in October, are still waiting for their referrals and we will all wait together. Even though we may have never met face-to-face we definitely have met heart-to-heart.