Friday, May 05, 2006
I saw the elephant, and I survived.
I've been doggedly working at getting those last few dossier items done this week and it's been stressful. Now that it's almost in order it doesn't seem like it was that bad, but then I remember my freak-out screaming fit at the dinner table last night about the kids crawling around under the table during dinner, and then sending my son to his room for what, I cannot remember now, and then leaving myself to go to my room crying.... ummmmmm, well uh... ashamedly I have to say that I was seeing the elephant.
Recounting the day, in the morning I had piled my 88-year-old grandmother, my two four-year-olds, my dossier notebook, and my grandmother's wheelchair into the car to go down to the local city police station. I was on a mission. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's office denied both my husband and I the "LETTER" we needed along with our police clearances which needed to state that they don't include birthplaces in their clearance letters. A ridiculous item, but at this point I don't even think about the rationality of what the Russian government wants. I'm just a document-producing machine. So I need this letter, and if I can't get it from the local city police station with new clearances, then I have been instructed to find an attorney in Santa Cruz to draft, sign and notarize it for me. So with my entourage we all shuffle into the police station to find out that they cannot do our clearances because we do not live in the city limits. Nevermind that my address has listed this city and zip for the last 16 years I've lived here, or the sales tax I pay on a daily basis. I'm a little discouraged now. We went out for lunch, then over to the Sheriff's office. I want to go back in and ask one more time, but I can't find Kevin's clearance letter! %#@&*!! Left it at home. Now we're off to the social worker's office for the updated home study copies. I've been waiting almost a week to get these, but she's not there! We made a trip to Trader Joe's and then back to her office. She's there and she hands me the new copies. Something in my hands, it's good! Later, when Kevin comes home he brings me the latest offering from our tax preparer. The first set of documents had been altered (document added after notarizing). So he redid it, but still it wasn't right. And then I noticed the notary stamp was going to expire in December. %#@&*!! And I was fretting about my imminent trip back to the sheriff's office to try to persuade them to give me the LETTER. I really didn't want to have to track down an attorney at this point in time, nevermind pay them $$$ for a no-brainer letter. No wonder I went ballistic. And let's just say that the while my grandmother was very accomodating for the ride around town, lunch and so forth, the kids were less than thrilled. Kevin was a saint, I have to say. He let me stay in the bedroom and read Anna Karenina while he bathed and put the kids to bed, and then cleaned up from dinner.
This morning I awoke with new determination. I realized that my kids had one more clean pair of pants in the drawer so I was off the hook for laundry. I drafted the letter I needed from the sheriff, and then I cut and pasted a copy of the sheriff letterhead onto it and made two copies. I figured I'd get one of three responses: NO, YES, or you're going to jail! And
thank God! I walked in and handed them the letter. They said, "Russia wants this??" and "Okay, but you'll have to pay notary fees." I now have the LETTER.
I also arranged for our wonderful notary, Tracy (below), to join me at the tax preparer's office Monday morning to get these Assets letters done right. Hmmmm. I have a copy of his letterhead too.
If all goes well, Monday I'll have the Assets docs, and when I pick up the kids from school we will drive up to Los Altos and get the Home Study copies notarized and pick up our other documents. Then we're going to Grandma and Grandpa's house for the night. Tuesday morning Pat (Grandma) will join us for a trip to Sacramento for apostilles and a visit to the train museum. I hope it all goes well!
Recounting the day, in the morning I had piled my 88-year-old grandmother, my two four-year-olds, my dossier notebook, and my grandmother's wheelchair into the car to go down to the local city police station. I was on a mission. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's office denied both my husband and I the "LETTER" we needed along with our police clearances which needed to state that they don't include birthplaces in their clearance letters. A ridiculous item, but at this point I don't even think about the rationality of what the Russian government wants. I'm just a document-producing machine. So I need this letter, and if I can't get it from the local city police station with new clearances, then I have been instructed to find an attorney in Santa Cruz to draft, sign and notarize it for me. So with my entourage we all shuffle into the police station to find out that they cannot do our clearances because we do not live in the city limits. Nevermind that my address has listed this city and zip for the last 16 years I've lived here, or the sales tax I pay on a daily basis. I'm a little discouraged now. We went out for lunch, then over to the Sheriff's office. I want to go back in and ask one more time, but I can't find Kevin's clearance letter! %#@&*!! Left it at home. Now we're off to the social worker's office for the updated home study copies. I've been waiting almost a week to get these, but she's not there! We made a trip to Trader Joe's and then back to her office. She's there and she hands me the new copies. Something in my hands, it's good! Later, when Kevin comes home he brings me the latest offering from our tax preparer. The first set of documents had been altered (document added after notarizing). So he redid it, but still it wasn't right. And then I noticed the notary stamp was going to expire in December. %#@&*!! And I was fretting about my imminent trip back to the sheriff's office to try to persuade them to give me the LETTER. I really didn't want to have to track down an attorney at this point in time, nevermind pay them $$$ for a no-brainer letter. No wonder I went ballistic. And let's just say that the while my grandmother was very accomodating for the ride around town, lunch and so forth, the kids were less than thrilled. Kevin was a saint, I have to say. He let me stay in the bedroom and read Anna Karenina while he bathed and put the kids to bed, and then cleaned up from dinner.
This morning I awoke with new determination. I realized that my kids had one more clean pair of pants in the drawer so I was off the hook for laundry. I drafted the letter I needed from the sheriff, and then I cut and pasted a copy of the sheriff letterhead onto it and made two copies. I figured I'd get one of three responses: NO, YES, or you're going to jail! And
thank God! I walked in and handed them the letter. They said, "Russia wants this??" and "Okay, but you'll have to pay notary fees." I now have the LETTER.
I also arranged for our wonderful notary, Tracy (below), to join me at the tax preparer's office Monday morning to get these Assets letters done right. Hmmmm. I have a copy of his letterhead too.
If all goes well, Monday I'll have the Assets docs, and when I pick up the kids from school we will drive up to Los Altos and get the Home Study copies notarized and pick up our other documents. Then we're going to Grandma and Grandpa's house for the night. Tuesday morning Pat (Grandma) will join us for a trip to Sacramento for apostilles and a visit to the train museum. I hope it all goes well!
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7 comments:
oh man!!! what a day....
sometimes it all becomes overwhelming, and then something we usually do in our sleep sets it off, and there you go. sounds like you had a good bit of quiet time to yourself, and then the next day, things look better...
will be thinking of you all this week, and hope the trip to Sac goes so well!!!
sending you much love too...
Hang in there. Piece by piece it all gets done and then that dossier which was your enemy for so long becomes a precious friend. It's a passport to your child.
The paperwork is killing us all. My notary has expired back in January on my whole dossier- so guess who is going to have to redo everything? It is all the more difficult with kids (I know). Like Margaret said- we need to take one piece at a time- refuse to see the whole elephant until the end.
I am planning on checking out Anna Karina to read too.
Oh boy, do I remember those days....wait - I am still living it! It continues on until the end I hate to tell you.
However, I can vividly remember when they handed me my daughter and told me she was ours and we could take her from the orphanage. I remember thinking, "what - you're just going to hand me this baby?! that's too easy!" So, in that moment you forget - you really do!
Oh, and thanks for popping in on my blog and leaving a comment! I added you to my "favorite blogs" list!
Hey, your life sounds so much like mine right now! I guess one day we will look back at all of these blogs and say, "Was it really that bad?" I have a feeling everything will pale when we step onto American soil with our children in hand.
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