here's rachel....

We made it to Florida! After driving cautiously (thank you, John!) through the icy slush of New Hampshire to get to the airport, we arrived in Tampa to be greeted by 75 degree temps, my brother-in-law, and my niece and nephew waiting in the car in their pajamas and slippers. Joy! I was so exhausted I couldn't sleep that night and spent the next day in a lounge chair basking in the sun and dozing. :)

Friday was our first meeting with the lawyer and birth-mother liason, Alyce, to be followed by lunch with the birthmom, Rachel. We arrived at the law office to find no lawyer as she was called out to the state prison to meet with another prospective birth-mother. Somehow her phone message was deleted from John's phone - he not recognizing the number, the lawyer's name or the part of the message that said, "I have to go down to the prison," as anything having to do with him or us! But we met with Alyce, who we've been dealing with via mail, email and phone over the past 3 months, and it was nice to put a face with her voice.

As we were getting ready to go meet Rachel at Red Lobster, Alyce asks us if we've brought a gift. A gift?!? Who said anything about a gift? Is that customary? I guess so.... So on our way to the restaurant we are searching for a Target, end up lost in a strip of car dealerships, get stuck in holiday mall traffic, and end up 1/2 an hour late for our lunch. Nothing like a little pressure.

But we make it, the meeting goes better than we expected, everyone pretty comfortable with each other. It actually feels real and tangible and highly likely that we will be adopting in a matter of weeks.

Now for a whole new kind of stress.