An Update of Sorts
I've been thinking that it's time for an update but each time I have thought of writing another post I struggle with knowing where to start. Not because so much has happened with adoption but just because... well Covid really. Who would have thought that a vast majority of the world would be stopped in their tracks in such a small amount of time? So I'll give you an adoption update and tell you a bit about what I have been up to over 4 1/2 weeks of lockdown.
On Wednesday 5th February I received an email saying that I had been accepted by CARA (the Indian Authorities) to adopt from India. From here my papers will be sent to a region of India and over time will be matched to a child based, to some degree, on the conditions I have set. This waiting will take a minimum of two years. But the waiting is not taken from the 5th February 2020 when I was approved. Instead it is taken from when my papers entered India. I thought this date was 5th May 2019 but it turns out that the date recorded on the CARA website is in January 2019 which means over a year of the wait is over already! This means that by this time next year I could be matched to a child. Great news!
How does Covid-19 affect this? Well for me, at the moment, not by much. India is also in lockdown and their borders are closed. As India comes out of lockdown they will continue to make matches. If I am matched sometime next year I will have a 6 - 12 month wait before travelling to India to bring Bunny home. Hopefully this travel is possible by then. I know a couple who have been matched to two girls in India and are now legally their parents. They were on their way to India to bring them home but were stopped in Singapore and told that if they got into India they wouldn't be able to get out again as the border was closing. My heart aches for them as what has already been a long wait drags out even further. I feel like one of the lucky ones in this case.
I have to admit over lockdown I have been one of the crazy, go-getter, project people.
I have baked, cooked, sewn, cleaned, gardened, refurbished, read, walked and created teaching videos for my students. Even in my walking I have created a goal based system. I aim to walk every street in my surrounding area by the end of lockdown. My only problem is that the streets I have left are now at least 30 minutes walk away just to get to them! Most of my current walks are 60 - 90 minutes. Some streets have been walked several times to get to others. I've enjoyed reflecting on the tapestry of gardens and houses within my area and have found some lovely parks that I plan to visit again in the future.
My ventures have become more than just a way to gain exercise. Most days they have also been a walk down memory lane. I had forgotten how much of my childhood and youth had been spent in this area. On my first walk I went past the house that my Grandad had grown up in and then my mum had lived in from the age of 10. My grandparents still lived there when I was a young child. I remember walking here after church on Sundays, high on my Grandad's shoulders, and devouring my Grandmother's roast for lunch! I have walked past the church that I attended from childhood to young adult; the youth house that we repainted with wild abandon; my youth leaders' houses that I spent a lot of time in as they guided me through the wilderness years of youth. My aunties had houses in this area, I babysat several young children in this area and on leaving high school I became a children's community worker in one of the local schools. It's amazing what we remember when we have time to reflect.
I've been baking and cooking most days as well. Our Director of Health, Ashley Bloomfield, said, "New Zealand will end this lockdown probably the healthiest it has ever been from respiratory illnesses." I think we should add that we will possibly be the heaviest we've ever been due to our inspiration in the kitchen. Mine started with a batch of Chelsea Winter's hot cross buns. Since then I've baked another batch. I then borrowed 10 Indian cooking books out of the library via the Libby app. Chilli roasted cashews and cumin roasted chickpeas were our next delight. We've also had Real Ginger and Pear Loaf, ANZAC biscuits, Gingerbread bunny shaped biscuits for Easter, and spinach and feta scones with more yet to come!
I started watching Nadia Lim's Comfort Kitchen and on the very night she was demonstrating how to make gnocchi I had only just put my potatoes in the oven for my first attempt at this delicious pasta. Great timing! Then came her Coconut rice pudding with cooked pineapple. After watching the episode on curries I went out (on my weekly shop) and bought all the ingredients to make both curries!
We have also been overstocked with tomatoes, feijoas and grapes. Red onion, red pepper and tomato soup dealt with many of the tomatoes. Some have been frozen and others will be used in curries and tomato gnocchi dishes. The grapes have been mashed, cooked and strained to make a delicious grape juice. Unfortunately this only dealt with a quarter of the grapes. We have eaten most of the feijoas but I plan to make some muffins out of the extras sometime this weekend.
In the sewing scene I have learned how to create my own bias binding. This is a long job which can seem a bit tedious but is a great skill to have. For those of you who don't know what I am talking about, bias binding is when you cut fabric on a special diagonal in order for it to have more stretch. You then sew the strips together, fold it in with an iron (this is the tedious part) and then sew it around the edge of the garment which in my case are children's aprons. I have had some lovely children's fabric for quite some time and have wondered what I could do with it. I now have 20 aprons on the go and hope to sell these some time in the future. I also made special aprons for Bunny.
My home renovation projects haven't been extraordinary over lockdown. With Mitre 10 selling out of paint I have had to be okay with sowing some grass seed, tidying up the garden and refurbishing a rocking horse that I bought from a second hand shop.
I've definitely found ways to amuse myself over lockdown and, to be honest, will miss the time to reflect, explore and create. I hope that I can continue some of this when life eventually returns to 'normal'. I have missed my friends and family over this time, but have made the effort to video call regularly. A great excuse for some photo effects.
I hope you are all well, wherever you're 'bubble' may be. I hope you have found peace in this time, however you have spent it. I look forward to seeing you all soon :)
On Wednesday 5th February I received an email saying that I had been accepted by CARA (the Indian Authorities) to adopt from India. From here my papers will be sent to a region of India and over time will be matched to a child based, to some degree, on the conditions I have set. This waiting will take a minimum of two years. But the waiting is not taken from the 5th February 2020 when I was approved. Instead it is taken from when my papers entered India. I thought this date was 5th May 2019 but it turns out that the date recorded on the CARA website is in January 2019 which means over a year of the wait is over already! This means that by this time next year I could be matched to a child. Great news!
How does Covid-19 affect this? Well for me, at the moment, not by much. India is also in lockdown and their borders are closed. As India comes out of lockdown they will continue to make matches. If I am matched sometime next year I will have a 6 - 12 month wait before travelling to India to bring Bunny home. Hopefully this travel is possible by then. I know a couple who have been matched to two girls in India and are now legally their parents. They were on their way to India to bring them home but were stopped in Singapore and told that if they got into India they wouldn't be able to get out again as the border was closing. My heart aches for them as what has already been a long wait drags out even further. I feel like one of the lucky ones in this case.
Lockdown: a state of isolation or restricted access instituted as a security measure.
Coming from New Zealand, where lockdown has meant we may be able to eradicate the virus from our country, I once again feel like one of the lucky ones. I pray for you all who live in other countries where this is not a possibility. I pray for safety, peace, and hope.I have to admit over lockdown I have been one of the crazy, go-getter, project people.
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| The streets I have walked so far |
My ventures have become more than just a way to gain exercise. Most days they have also been a walk down memory lane. I had forgotten how much of my childhood and youth had been spent in this area. On my first walk I went past the house that my Grandad had grown up in and then my mum had lived in from the age of 10. My grandparents still lived there when I was a young child. I remember walking here after church on Sundays, high on my Grandad's shoulders, and devouring my Grandmother's roast for lunch! I have walked past the church that I attended from childhood to young adult; the youth house that we repainted with wild abandon; my youth leaders' houses that I spent a lot of time in as they guided me through the wilderness years of youth. My aunties had houses in this area, I babysat several young children in this area and on leaving high school I became a children's community worker in one of the local schools. It's amazing what we remember when we have time to reflect.
I've been baking and cooking most days as well. Our Director of Health, Ashley Bloomfield, said, "New Zealand will end this lockdown probably the healthiest it has ever been from respiratory illnesses." I think we should add that we will possibly be the heaviest we've ever been due to our inspiration in the kitchen. Mine started with a batch of Chelsea Winter's hot cross buns. Since then I've baked another batch. I then borrowed 10 Indian cooking books out of the library via the Libby app. Chilli roasted cashews and cumin roasted chickpeas were our next delight. We've also had Real Ginger and Pear Loaf, ANZAC biscuits, Gingerbread bunny shaped biscuits for Easter, and spinach and feta scones with more yet to come!
I started watching Nadia Lim's Comfort Kitchen and on the very night she was demonstrating how to make gnocchi I had only just put my potatoes in the oven for my first attempt at this delicious pasta. Great timing! Then came her Coconut rice pudding with cooked pineapple. After watching the episode on curries I went out (on my weekly shop) and bought all the ingredients to make both curries!We have also been overstocked with tomatoes, feijoas and grapes. Red onion, red pepper and tomato soup dealt with many of the tomatoes. Some have been frozen and others will be used in curries and tomato gnocchi dishes. The grapes have been mashed, cooked and strained to make a delicious grape juice. Unfortunately this only dealt with a quarter of the grapes. We have eaten most of the feijoas but I plan to make some muffins out of the extras sometime this weekend.
In the sewing scene I have learned how to create my own bias binding. This is a long job which can seem a bit tedious but is a great skill to have. For those of you who don't know what I am talking about, bias binding is when you cut fabric on a special diagonal in order for it to have more stretch. You then sew the strips together, fold it in with an iron (this is the tedious part) and then sew it around the edge of the garment which in my case are children's aprons. I have had some lovely children's fabric for quite some time and have wondered what I could do with it. I now have 20 aprons on the go and hope to sell these some time in the future. I also made special aprons for Bunny.
I've definitely found ways to amuse myself over lockdown and, to be honest, will miss the time to reflect, explore and create. I hope that I can continue some of this when life eventually returns to 'normal'. I have missed my friends and family over this time, but have made the effort to video call regularly. A great excuse for some photo effects.
I hope you are all well, wherever you're 'bubble' may be. I hope you have found peace in this time, however you have spent it. I look forward to seeing you all soon :)
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