Nana Chimes In

Hi. I'm Nana, Mary's mom, the grandmother to 4 girls, 0 boys. I do have a son, though, so I'm not unfamiliar with the concept of male children. I know that boys & girls ARE different - don't let anyone tell you any different. Boys bring their own brand of joy to your life. To have a grandson in the family would make my world complete. And speaking of my son.... His wife is from Belarus - the former USSR. She speaks Russian. Her lovely family speaks Russian. And Charlie is from Eastern Europe. He speaks Russian. I marvel at how the universe conspires to provide you with all you need. I feel like Charlie was meant to be. If we have problems with the language, help is just a phone call away.

Mary & I went shopping last night for Easter stuff for the girls. At the front of the first store was a rack of boys' polo shirts. Ooh, look! Wouldn't this look great on Charlie!?! Would it? Would he like shirts like this? I wonder what his favorite color is? I wonder what size he is? It's too early to start buying stuff for him. Rats! But it's never to early to start looking & dreaming about him being a part of this family. I can't wait to be able to take him out shopping & let him pick out his own clothes, his own toys, his own stuff. Kids love stuff. Kids need stuff. Watching him pick out his own stuff will reveal who the boy inside him is.

The process to adopt Charlie is a lengthy one. I wish it didn't take so long, but I understand why. I don't have to like it to understand it. We are all ready to have him here & start doing all those things to make him a part of the family. That's not true. He's already a part of the family. He's just not here yet. He doesn't even know we exist yet. He doesn't know he has a family who can't wait to bring him home. Weird, isn't it? To know something that life altering about someone else makes you feel like you know the future. But we're not supposed to know the future - not our own & especially not someone else's. So, we wait & wait. Once he's here, the waiting will be all worth it. Right now, it's excruciating. There's lots of paper work for Mary & Brent to go through. They are not sitting still waiting for Charlie to show up. That's my job. I'm good at a lot of things. I'm great at a few things. I'm not good at waiting. Aging has provided me with a better perspective & I know waiting is a necessary evil. And when I think about what awaits at the end of the waiting, I sit back down, smile & wait some more.

Here's to you, Charlie. Soon, very soon, I'll see your face, hear your voice, your laughter, your tears. I can't wait to meet you, get to know you & find out who you are.

Love, Nana