Hoops & Delays

As anyone who has adopted internationally can tell you, the process is full of bumps, glitches, hoops to jump through, and delays.  This adoption is no different.  I originally thought I'd travel in late spring.  Well, that didn't happen.  Then I was SURE I'd travel in the summer.  In fact, I even got a call from my agency in early June.  I was SURE they had a referral waiting for me.  Nope.  Instead, they had another hoop for me to jump through.  Honduras had approved my dossier, but wanted one more thing.  They wanted me (and all adopting families) to be evaluated by a psychologist, including a personality test.  Oh boy!  So after my insurance said they don't do that sort of thing, I cold called psychologists from the phone book until I found one with some adoption experience and a price I could afford.  Only problem, it'd be a month before I could get an appointment.
So jump ahead to mid-July.  My psychology appointment is done, but they are waiting on my personality test results.  Let's hope that this report is done and in Honduras's hands by the end of the month.  Maybe then I will have a referral in August.  But you know the saying, "Man plans, and God laughs."
So today's delay...Honduras had just now decided that I will have to make 2 trips to Honduras, up to 6 weeks apart.  Many countries do require 2 trips, but this is the first Honduras has ever said about it.   Both trips would be about 5 days.  I would likely go alone on the first trip, meet my daughter, sign papers, go back home...alone.  The second trip my mom and 4 year old Mia would likely come, we would have our official Gotcha Day, and do the U.S. paperwork, and then come home.  Though not what I had planned on, we can make it work.  It's just the up to 6 week DELAY from the first to second trip that gets me.
Like I said, just a bunch of hoops & delays.  Nothing new in the world of international adoption.  On the positive side, this adoption looks like it will take just about a year total, from start to finish.  A far cry from the over 3 1/2 year start to finish total from my China adoption.