Yes, it’s been awhile. Last week I was swamped with work, lots of meetings, a little stress, and too much extra adoption work. Re-submitting our immigration paperwork was not a fun experience, to say the least.
Then we found out, through my Yahoo adoption group, that we have to do an extra 10 hours of adoption training. Mandatory. Long story short, the Hague Treaty on International Adoption is being ratified in 2008… January, I believe. There are some new requirements that adoption agencies have to implement. Including an extra 10 hours of training. Mind you, those who have already submitted (and resubmitted) their I-600a’s by the time the treaty is ratified (immigration stuff) don’t have to do this extra training… according to the Hague. But, because our agency wants to be a “leader” in this process, they are making this mandatory for those of us who are impatiently waiting for referrals… Meanwhile, this sent us worrying–perhaps validly so, I still don’t have an answer–that our agency knows we likely won’t travel until January 2008. If that’s the case… I can’t even think about that. Of course that’s what I said last year, when I thought it out of the realm of possibility that we wouldn’t travel until summer 2007. Ha.
Needless to say, this is quite frustrating. This training includes extra money; three online courses and tests; a book to order, read, and take a test on; and sending for a certificate proving that we did this. Joy. More hoops.
Then, it’s the “M” Day this weekend. I was supposed to preach this weekend, and when I made the schedule, I knew it would be Mother’s Day. But I thought I could do it, because we don’t make a big deal of the holiday in worship. However, with all this extra adoption stuff taking place last week, that upset me more than I thought it would… and it being Mother’s Day this Sunday… Need I say more?
On a good and fun note, I was in Santa Barbara Thursday night through Sunday morning. I had the Board of Benevolence meeting last weekend, and it was in that gorgeous city. I’ve been to Santa Barbara several times, but never overnight. Beautiful. I love it. But I think I’d have a hard time living there with all that opulence. I also think it’d be a tough place to pastor. But I digress.
It was good to be away, to sit by the pool, to take a walk on the beach with other board members, to listen to waves… and to be on this Board. I am always impressed, when I leave these meetings, at how much the Covenant does as a denomination. Yes, there’s lots of room for improvement. No, we aren’t perfect. But we do a lot, and a lot in the areas of compassion, mercy and justice.
As good as it was to be away, it’s good to be home, though I’m playing catch-up all week with endless amounts of work and personal stuff. Such is life.
My hostas are growing fairly well. I’ve planted some herbs in pots, and have to get more. We splurged and bought cheap patio furniture–a glass table, which I’ve wanted for years.. it’s more sturdy than the resin table we’ve been using for so long. So now Jim calls the deck my “summer office”.
And summer’s not that far away.
So now this mad city cat has blogged more “about this and ’bout that.” And she’s signing off….
Welcome back.