Wednesday, April 1, 2009

I just cried on a public sidewalk.

Once upon a time, there was a woman and a man, and they fell in love, and got married.

The woman is my friend. And she is a person of rare beauty, incredible heart, and great wit.

The man and woman loved each other very much, and wanted more than anything to have children.

After a year of trying to conceive, and much testing, they decided to try IUI. And so they did. For six months. And after six months of heartbreak, the man and the woman decided that their future child was in another country.

They applied for an adoption. And waited. And waited.

And then one glorious day, they received the referral – the document which tells them about their daughter, and included her picture. And there were tears and joy and buoyancy.

And then they traveled to meet their daughter, and it was love at first sight on all sides. They brought her home and we met them, and her, at the airport.

Immediately after bringing their daughter home, they applied to bring their next child home.

They waited, and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

It was taking much longer than they ever even feared it would take.

They waited more.

Three years.

Three. Years.

And during those three years, the world entered a recession.

And the man’s livelihood was affected quite negatively by the recession.

His employer became financially troubled.

All this time, they were waiting for the referral to meet their next child. And waiting, and worrying, and watching.

A lot of worry.

And then, a few weeks ago, the man was told that the company was closing.

But the couple had an idea. The man would start his own business. It would work out.

But the woman, my friend, called me today. She said that she called their adoption agency to see if her husband’s possible unemployment and new startup business would affect the adoption of their next child. The agency said that it would, when their homestudy expired.

Part of the homestudy, she said, was financial stability. She said that they would first have to pay all of the homestudy fees again, and in light of the man’s tenuous employment situation, they would not pass the homestudy. She said that they would be required to prove the new business was making a profit. And, even if the new business was successful, it would need a few months of profitability, and things like a notarized letter from a CPA vouching for the business’s economic sturdiness.

I asked my friend when the homestudy expired, thinking maybe, just maybe, if they got a referral next month by some miracle then it would be all alright if the homestudy hadn’t expired yet.

But inside I was raging, and so crushed for them, and cursing the recession and everything else I could blame. I was also envisioning how to forge the required documents, and falsify business records for the new business.

As I was walking downtown at lunch, talking on my cell phone, I asked my friend again when the homestudy expired.

She said, “Oh, wait, there was one more thing."

"What," I said, thinking it could not be worse, really. Could it?

She responded, "April Fools.”

Stopping in my tracks I said, “What?!?!?”

She said, "April fools. We got our referral yesterday. We have a son.”

And that’s when I cried in the middle of the sidewalk on a busy downtown day.

They meet their son in a few weeks.

My friend reads the blog. If you would, please scold her for the joke, and congratulate her on her new son.

10 comments:

I am Mary S. said...

Ack! I'm crying! That was so not funny! Mean mean mean! But CONGRATULATIONS to them!!!!!!!! Adoption is a wonderful gift!

Unknown said...

oh! What a lovely ending. I'm soooo glad it ended that way.

Jacque said...

Dear Chris' friend,
That was a very cruel April Fools joke. I will forgive you only because I love April Fools Day. Congrats on your new son!! I hope the adoption goes perfectly.

Hef said...

Good gawd, that's terrible!!!

But incredible at the same time!

Congrats!

SaRaH said...

Dear Friend of Rare beauty, incredible heart, and great WIT,

Holy guacamole you made me cry. I'm so happy about your new little man. May he grow to think up incredible April Fools' jokes for YOU.

Nicole said...

I just got goosebumps!

This is such a touching and amazing story! (and a tad bit mean.. ;) )
Congratulations to your friend and her husband and daughter on the new addition to their family!!

Tiff said...

I was starting to tear up, then got to the April Fool's part and said "Are you freaking serious"....after I read that they got a son - tears streamed down my cheeks!

Congrats on your new son!

pattinase (abbott) said...

Okay, I don't even know these people and I am crying.

Stacy and Jon said...

This woman is a sadist. Who would entrust an innocent child to care?? Thanks for recording this story with such dramatic effect--I'll put it in his baby book! And thanks for the warm wishes and congrats. I can't wait to get my hands on my little Guy!

Lolita Breckenridge said...

Stacy, thanks for putting me in the league of your best friend and sister. That's pretty good company. But you should still watch out on 4/1/10. There will be payback. ;-)