It has been bitterly cold and pretty windy here in the Midwest.  So what do you do on a Saturday night?  You brew a delicious batch of strawberry milkshake IPA, start a fire, and blast some amazing music (Mumford and Sons, Bret Dennen, Punch Brothers, Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, Prince, among so many others).  

We’ve learned how to wait.  See we are currently farther into the adoption process than we ever have been. We aren’t ready to officially tell the public what that means, but please do know, that there is no certainty in anything other than how we choose to wait and controlling the things we can control.   

This morning as Eli and I were cleaning the house (let’s face it, it was mainly Eli and I was mainly offering emotional support), we were talking about how fortunate we are to have grown and learned so much throughout this journey to build our family.  We often get the, “It must be so hard to wait.” And although we appreciate the sentiment, it has been an absolute pleasure.  Now don’t get me wrong.  It doesn’t mean we don’t get frustrated or that it isn’t hard, but it’s produced a certain “grit” in us, and I really believe we’ve chosen to make the most out of it.  

We’ve taken this time to read, discuss, engage, and learn about things that will not only deeply impact our family, but impacts humanity in general. It has changed my life, and I will be forever grateful to have the “veil” that society and I have placed over my eyes removed.  

We’ve also taken the time to just be in love with one another.  When no one else has understood this journey, we’ve had each other.  There is no better medicine for me than adventures, laughter, and wandering with Eli.  This has looked like dance sessions in the kitchen, a trip of a lifetime to London and Paris, trying new breweries and restaurants, and just loving our life together.  No one could love him like I do, and there is no one else that I would rather go through this journey or this life with.  

So we will continue to wait…at a crossroads we’ve never been at before.  We’ll dance a little in the kitchen, brew a little beer, read our next book on white fragility, and move when we need to.  

~Chelsea