Come and play the referral game! (Really, it will be fun!)

I am officially waiting for a referral from Taiwan. It's important to wait gracefully when you are adopting, and I am the first to admit that I waited very poorly when I was in process for Amelia. I am determined to be merrier (and calmer)about the whole thing this time around - which leads to this post.

To make the “waiting” phase fun, I have decided to host a little bloggy game, and I will make it worth your time to play along!

Here’s how it will work: You select any date from today’s date to December 31 to choose when you think I will receive my referral. Whoever is closest to the right date, without going past that date, is the winner. So, for example, if you pick September 1, and someone else picks September 3, and the referral comes on September 2 (picked by nobody), then the winner would be the person who picked September 1. If, for some reason, my referral does not come by December 31, the winner will be the person who picks December 31, and we will play again in January with a new date range.

The prize: I will make a $100 donation to the adoption/orphan charity of your choice or to a family of your choice who is in the process of adopting a child (any country). If there is more than one winner (i.e., more than one person picks the same date, and that date is the winning date), I will split the prize among the winners.

How to play: Leave a comment with the date you think the referral will come. Leave the name or website of the charity or family of your choice (yes, it can be your own family if you are adopting!)

To help you narrow down your date selection, here are some “helpful” hints: I am currently sitting at #2 on the waitlist. My dossier was approved on April 29, so as of right now, I am 3+ months into the waiting phase. In March-April-May, there were several (5-7) referrals made. Those families had waited anywhere from a few weeks to a few months on the waitlist. There have been no referrals during June or July. My agency told me in June that it mights take 9-12 months for a referral (and they usually estimate conservatively), but just this week, they told me that they were hopeful to be able to make some referrals “in the fall.” So...no guarantees that it will be before the end of the year...just hopes!

Happy date-picking!

Amy