(Written before Baby Spring had made his debut!)
Last month’s self-portrait is a little less elegant than I usually tend, but I’m totally ok with it! I’m also loving how my self-portrait series has morphed into a documentation of how our adoption journey is progressing. I didn’t originally intend it that way, but these photographs have turned out to be a really creative way for me to process each stage of the experience and how I’m feeling each month.

I remember telling friends when we got matched, and telling them Baby’s due date was in late August- the response of anyone who already has children was inevitably “whoa! So soon!” Which I thought was a little crazy, because having 10 weeks to prepare felt like such a long time to wait based on what I’d thought was going to happen! Prior to being matched with our expectant mama, I was convinced we were going to have a post-delivery referral, when you’re matched with a little one who may already be several days or weeks old. In those situations, it can be as as quick as “Hey! You’ve been matched- you have 12 hours to get to the hospital. Congratulations!”

Having 10 weeks was such a gift I didn’t know I’d appreciate as much as I did- we’ve had time to prepare a nursery, go on a quick babymoon, savor this time together, and plan for the rapidly-approaching future we’re hoping for. We would have managed just fine if it had been a “you have 12 hours” situation, but I’m so very grateful for the gift of this extra time, especially being first-time parents.

We’ve done everything we can to prepare well, so now it’s just a matter of waiting for the “GO!” call. This month’s self-portrait is a depiction of how I’ve been feeling for the last two weeks, jumping any time my phone goes off, not wanting to plan more than a day or two in advance, just in case.

Title: Ready, set….

Fun fact- I have a serious aversion to taking my self-portraits while anyone is watching, so I got up at before dawn to get to the track at sunrise. I decided I was done when the high school’s cross country team showed up for practice at 7am!