Re Posting: IA in a nutshell

This seems even more fitting a year later so I am reposting it. I stole this from someone who posted it on an ethiopadopt group. I think this covers just about everything:

1. Fill out questionnaire.
2. Send check.
3. Fill out big questionnaire.
4. Send another check.
5. Get interviewed. (have a social worker inspect your home- panic)
6. Get fingerprinted twice.
7. Write check.
8. Apply for Visa.
9. Write big check.
10. Get more fingerprints.
11. Get copies of every official certified thing ever written about you
or files on your behalf.
12. Get your friends to write nice things about you.
13. Get them to write more and different nice things about you to put
into the file.
14. Wait forever for the INS to figure out you aren't a terrorist
training camp for toddlers.
(go through this again a little over a year later because you are still waiting)
15. Send another check with your completed file you've copied 9 times
because you want to be sure.
16. Send everything to the agency and hope that this is NOT the one
package they lose today.
17. Wait.
18. Wait some more.
19. Cruise the boards to find out who's getting referrals.
20. Worry that maybe you picked the wrong agency.
21. Wait some more.
22. Get Referral!
23. Send last check.
24. Wait
25. Wait.
26. Check prices for airline tickets.
27. Get shots.
28. Check Passports.
29. Check on Visas for Ethiopia.
30. Wait.
31. Get a court date!
32. Worry you won't pass court.
33. Blame everyone and everything for anyone not passing court.
34. Panic.
35. Pass Court (or not, skip back to 32).
36. Panic some more.
37. Finish the kid's room.
38. Buy more toys.
39. Panic some more.
40. Wait.
41. Get second round of shots.
42. Wonder why there are 6 pages of things you MUST pack for a 10 day
trip.
43. Wonder if ANYONE ever packed that much.
44. Wonder how anyone did and STILL brought things over to donate to the program (feel guilty you couldn't bring more).
45. Meet your child.
46. Joy, mixed with panic because all of the your fears and doubts and
everything else are staring you down and sizing you up.
47. More bureaucracy.
48. Travel back to the USA with a child that thinks he's just been
kidnapped.
49. Kick yourself for not test installing the car seat before you left.
50. Home. Sleep. Panic.
51. Read your child his first bedtime story (that he still can't
understand because he doesn't speak English).
52. Realize that it was all worth it.

I laughed until I cried after reading this.

(I would add one thing around #40: go to baby store and look at things you can't buy because you don't know the sex of your baby or their age/weight)

Simple.