I realize it’s been ages since I have written anything on Stealing Nectar. This was an unintended time out, but I try to write only when I feel I have something to share so – this time – the time between posts got a little lengthy! Part of this is because I have been working on a creative project for a future little one and partially this is because I have also been on an amazing vacation! Life is good! So here are some updates…

Adoption: No news. We don’t know if the birth mom/parents signed on October 27th or not. Information is getting harder to receive each time. It certainly seems like we will be passing the two year, in-process mark (early Jan) before getting a formal referral to travel and meet a child. I am trying to accept this gracefully. I find that to stay emotionally even, I am distancing myself from the adoption process a little bit. I am still reading books in preparation, but it is hard to continue my Creole lessons and dream of our future Haitian child when it seems we are in an infinite holding pattern. I think this is just a natural consequence of the wait.

Children’s project: I am working on a little book from the heart to share with our child one day when he/she comes home. I am trying to tackle some transracial adoption issues within the pages. It’s been interesting to really try to go beyond my own perspective and be sensitive to everything I am learning about how a child who was adopted might feel about everything I write or illustrate. With some hugely helpful feedback, I am learning that I need to forget about my intentions and humble myself to what a child might have as a perspective instead. This is always the crux of the issue, as many of you, my readers, know with infertility and loss: perspective is hard to fully grasp unless it is yours…but it would be a much more helpful world if we all tried to understand without being automatically dismissive! So, I am trying to be helpful to our child no matter how many edits it takes!

Vacation: The fun part! I went on the most amazing holiday! I will include some pictures to follow. I went with my husband and my side of the family to many beautiful, far away lands including the following: Rome, Capri, Sicily, Greece, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, then back to Italy to finish the trip in Venice and Florence. This took us away for two full weeks and I am on such a high from seeing how beautiful this world is! And as an added bonus, it served as an amazing distraction from The Wait I feel like I am constantly participating in back home! Having said this, I feel I have to mention the attacks in Paris and how I desperately desire a world where we can still travel and enjoy each other’s cultures without fear. I feel enormously lucky to be able to travel and I plead with the universe that this privilege isn’t taken away from us entirely.

So….pictures….enjoy!