Thinking of my friends....

(Mama has hijacked the thread for a very important message....)

Today is a very special day for me because I waited for so long for Gabrielle.....but today is also a day when I have great sadness for a few of my friends who are waiting to become Moms (or to become Moms for a second time) and have been waiting for far too long. I have some old friends (not age, Julie!, Christine and Grisel) and new friends (Rana) and some friends I have never met IRL (Jenny). The one thing they all have in common is that they are in the wait. Sure, Grisel has her Connor and Christine has her Manny, but they have been waiting and longing for a second child for a LONG time.

Julie and Steven are on my mind in a big way today....not only have they been waiting for almost TEN years to be parents (they celebrate their tenth anniversary just 2 weeks after us in September 2009), but they have been dealt some other difficult life circumstances while they have been waiting. Today, not only are their arms empty without the two missing someones who belong there, but Steven doesn't have his Mom here. And, Lummi will not meet his human siblings. And, there is worry about Teddy's health. I wish I could take all of Steven's and Julie's pain and bring them their proposal NOW. They are the most deserving parents-to-be....more words for them are escaping me. So for now, I will send hugs and love.

Jenny in Pennsylvania is someone who I have "known" since we longed for our children together on an internet bulletin board. She has waited since March 2006 for her daughter to come home from China....more than THREE years. She is on the home stretch and will hopefully have her Mia at home before 2009 closes. Jenny has also had to suffer during her wait.....her Mom passed away from cancer recently. Jenny, I am thinking about you as you think about your Mom today and miss her and miss the Mia that WILL be with you celebrating next Mother's Day.

Grisel is another sweet friend who I met because we both went to the same fertility doctor. She had success, but the birth of her sweet Connor was bittersweet because at the same time, she gave birth and shortly thereafter, she lost Connor's twin, David. Grisel also lost her mother over 20 years ago. I know that, although Grisel celebrates Mother's Day today with Connor, she continues to miss her Mom and David and still has a hole in her heart for the daughter who she thought would be home at least a year and a half ago. Come on China, bring her home!

Christine and I also met on an internet bulletin board and then we met in real life in New York about three years ago when I went out to visit Leigh's Sonia when she first came home from China. Christine's sweet Manny just turned 4...she is waiting for her daughter from Ethiopia. We hope her wait will not be long ...

Rana is a new friend (friend of Julie). She is also waiting to become a Mom through Ethiopian adoption. I just met her and her sweet husband, Svan, a few weeks ago when they were here visiting from Canada. They have been waiting for over a year and a half and hopefully, we will be able to celebrate a referral soon.

Waiting to be a parent is one of the most difficult things in life. Those that didn't have to wait don't get it. Waiting for ten years is unfair...any amount of time is painful and difficult. Please let 2009 be the year for many of my above friends to put the wait behind them and move on to the joy of motherhood (and fatherhood!)