Now, I know what you are probably thinking… Did I miss something? Was there an announcement I didn't see? Can Deborah actually make this decision all by herself? Well, no. Not technically. But I really don’t care. I’m ready to go and I’m tired of everyone else counting down to things (homecomings, Gotcha Days, moving days, mission trips, etc.) while I sit around waiting on other people to get their part of the job done so that I can countdown to something too, so I have made my decision. I am leaving August 17. And I will countdown to that date. And China, well, they just need to get on board with my plan and all will be well. I mean, honestly, what’s the worst that can happen? Our actual departure date comes in later than that? Well then, so what? If need be, I will adjust my count at that time and go with the flow. I’m flexible. Or, how about this… what if our actual departure date comes in a little earlier than August 17? Well then I guess I will just have to adjust my count at that point too. Oh, boo hoo, you mean I might actually have to cut out a few days? Well, wouldn’t that just be a shame… =)
And just so you don't worry too much about my sanity at this point, I will assure you that I did not simply randomly select this date out of the blue. I actually put some real (perhaps slightly manic) thought into it and picked a very logical and probable date. Here’s how it works…
* Our NVC letter arrived and was faxed to CCAI on Thursday, June 30.
*Our NVC letter was forwarded to the CCAI staff in Guangzhou on Thursday, June 30.
*Our NVC letter was delivered to the US Consulate on Friday, July 1.
*The US Consulate has recently been taking exactly 2 weeks to process NVC letters and produce “Article 5” paperwork for adopting families.
*Given this timeline, our Article 5 paperwork should be picked up on Friday, July 15.
*After receiving Article 5 we will begin waiting for Travel Approval.
*This wait is estimated at 2-4 weeks, with the current trend being 3 weeks.
*Actual travel is estimated at 7-14 days after receiving Travel Approval.
*Actual travel is estimated at 7-14 days after receiving Travel Approval.
*A 2 week wait gives us TA on Friday July 29 – with the estimated departure window of August 5-12.
*A 3 week wait gives us TA on Friday August 5 – with an estimated departure window of August 12-19.
*August 17 is late for the two week wait (not likely) and in the 3 week wait timeslot (most likely at this time).
*In addition, most Gotcha Days are arranged for Mondays with families traveling at the end of the previous week so I settled on August 17 looking at August 22 as Gotcha Day of the 3 week wait timeline. (FYI – August 29 would be a fun Gotcha Day as it is my birthday, but I would really prefer not to wait that long so I’m sticking with August 22).
So, you see, I’m not totally crazy... A little delusional perhaps, but not completely off my rocker. =) This decision has been made with the most highly scientific yahoo group and Facebook research available. So, no matter how crazy you think I've become, or how hard you laugh, or how many people scoff at my plan, I will stand by my decision...
Mark your calendars… August 17 – Deb and Katie leave for China. Whoo Hoo!!
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