Turkey Day gathering

It's been a crazy week - I headed down to Cincinnati early for the holiday weekend. My mom, Ian, and I left on Monday afternoon and arrived in time for dinner - not bad considering traveling with a kid in diapers (locked into a car seat) and my mom, famous for her small bladder. But it was an uneventful affair with the exception of the confusing Indianapolis expressway system. We did, however, manage to stay on course and not get lost (a major feet from the last major road trip I took without my husband, Sam). The whole idea of going down early was to spend more time with my sister and her family before her in-laws arrived. It was nice because my oldest sister, Elise (the one who lives in Cincy) and my middle sister, Donna (lives in Virginia) are hardly ever together. It always seems like a good idea ahead of time :) We had a good time and it was good to see my nieces and nephew. Elise's kids are 8 years old (twins), it's hard for them to understand the concept of family building, and I get that - but a few weeks prior to Thanksgiving, during a phone conversation, the topic of Sam and I having more kids came up. I was taken aback - didn't they know? I briefly mentioned our adoption plan (knowing how complex it could be to explain over the phone) and my sister brought in a family friend as an example. I was a little saddened by the fact our plans had not been shared.

During the visit with Elise's in-laws there were more questions about our family plans. "Thinking of having another one?" "When are you guys going to have another one?" All the usual questions. Again, I was a little shocked. We are not longer in the starting stages - although we still have a long way to go - we are deep in this process and have a real plan and process ahead of us. Wouldn't she have told them if I was pregnant? I don't know why the information wasn't shared - or why I took it so personally. Is this different from expecting the usual way? Should I be treated differently - not talking about it - is it not as real? It feels real, so much more real than trying to conceive through treatments. At least I know there is a baby out there (possibly already born) waiting for us.

I'm anxious about the agency's trip to Thailand - waiting for any bit of information they can offer. But that'll be another few weeks.