The sisterhood of A-parents

My previous post got me thinking, got the emotional side of my brain riled up. When we adopted the boys almost 11 years ago there was no such thing as a yahoo group, an adoption community (or blogs for that matter) that I was a part of. We had a access to a support group, one for toddlers adopted from foster care, but I went to one meeting and quickly realized these people were very different from me, so I decided to forgo a 'support group' and relied on my friends and family for parenting advice and support. When our adoption coordinator from our agency suggested I sign up for the agency yahoo group, I had no idea what he was even talking about, but followed the link and it brought me to a whole new world of people in the same boat as we were. People that know the pain of paperwork, watching your savings account dwindle as you write check after check to government agencies and Livescan places, high fiving you when you get out of the review room, and most of all helping each other get through the wait. Ah, THE WAIT. As of right now we are told that we should expect a 24 month wait. I have no idea what to expect. I feel kinda lucky though, because we have the boys to keep us busy, the wait does not feel so excruciating. I really feel for my waiting first-time parent friends. I have been there. Though we didn't have to wait 2 years, only one, it still sucks nonetheless. The one good thing about this wait is that we are logged in a long time after most of the group I belong to. It is going to be so amazing as I watch these deserving couples receive their babies and begin a new chapter in their lives as a family of three (or four if they are lucky to be matched with twins!). So to all the waiting A-parents, hang in there, I am your biggest cheerleader.