Just Move Already

As convincing as all those circumstances seemed to be, I was looking for that little extra. The internal green light. Wasn't coming. Wasn't getting a red light either. The other indicators seemed to say, "proceed with caution." What we were doing now didn't seem to be getting us any closer to filling our house. We needed to do .... something! Looked into several agencies. What if we continued domestic only with an agency? Some agencies allow you to look domestically and then switch to international if you don't find a match with only a nominal cost difference. But in the end discovered I wasn't fond of some of the domestic policies. I kept changing my mind. In the end the heart won out. I swallowed my fear of writing big checks and took the dive.

Those Stats

100,000 children in Ukraine are in orphanages. Another 130,000 on the streets. Oh, you know, the regular stuff. Alcoholism, illness, poverty, death, imprisonment. If you can't afford to feed your kids its okay to leave them somewhere. There are 100,000 in the US up for adoption. Ukraine is roughly the size of Texas. The kids are kicked out of the orphanages at 16 or 17 with a little something to get them through the first few months on their own. 10% commit suicide by their 18th birthday, 70% of boys turn to a life of crime, 60% of girls become prostitutes, only 27% find work. I you want to see pictures, get into You Tube and find the video Orphans of Ukraine. Bring a box of tissues.

Have you ever tried to convince someone of something and done too good of a job? My friend Pat once said that you have to tell some one something seven times before they remember it. (I'm sure in my case it's 20 something but we won't go into that). Well, with Rolan it was three. I gave him the same stats as you see above. He heard it again in church, and then again at the Christmas gathering for the kids that came to the US in December. His eyes were opened. Wide.

He wants 6.
Okay, 4. "Honey, how about four?"
I thought about it all day. On that day, I think it was a Sunday, you could see me wandering around the house mumbling "four, huh...four." Every once in a while I'd look at Rolan and say, "four?"
After a full day I said, "Honey, I think my mothering skills drop dramatically after about three."
I think I can encourage, support, cajole three through college. Four, I think I could get through High School. Five, I could make sure would live to adulthood, but I wouldn't feel good about the job I'd done. How about three."

Three.

My friend Sarah says she can do it with three. So, see? It can be done.

Now, about the house . . .