Court

Wow....I'm finding it hard to keep up with my blog these days.....wonder why??!! Haha.
So, I will try to start posting during nap times.....I've been paying bills, so I'm putting that on the back burner cause it's depressing.......

So, anyway, I have alot of catching up to do. So, I'll start with COURT.

I was so dreading going to court. I had heard this particular judge was really tough. I was her first case of the morning, so I was hopeful I would catch her in a good mood that morning. I did.
She did ask some provocative questions, but none I couldn't answer. Although I was a little stressed, I knew there was nothing in my background that would cause alarm. I had also checked and double checked my documents and knew everything was in order and all income figures matched on each form.....something that seems to be an issue for some people because you fill out one form on month and another six months or a year later...and your salary may have changed, etc. Anyway, all that was good and I felt stressed but confidant.

The one thing she kept harping on was the ECONOMY. Lots of what if questions....what if I lose my job, what if my mortgage company demands full payment of my home, what if, what if. I kept answering, but she always came back with "anything could happen, what if, what if..." Finally I said my father was raised a farmer and if worse came to worse we'd all move into his house and grow a garden and live off the land. That was the only thing that satisfied her questions about the ECONOMY. Funny, now...but it wasn't at the time.

I made a fashion faux pas by wearing light colored hosiery with my skirt. Everyone kept pointing and staring and speaking in Russian and I knew they were talking about me...finally my translator told me. Oh well, whatever. I wasn't there to make a fashion statement. But, the Russian women are very fashion conscious.

So, I came out of court with a favorable decision. Hugs all around. The judges last statement to me was "you are now the parent of this child and you are responsible for her well-being from this day forward." Yay!!! But, I have to wait 10 days to get her.... a "cooling off period"....huh? Now does that make good sense to anyone? How can I be responsible when I can' t even get to her for 10 days. I wasn't even allowed to visit her but once due to the distance the orphanage was from the city. So, I made the Trans-Atlantic flight back to the states to complete some theatre business and returned after we all "cooled down".

So....Sophie is awake from her nap.....more later.