A real lesson in persistance!

Honestly, my entry yesterday was entitled "a lesson in persistance" as a cute way to show some new photos of Caroline. In the end, the entire experience turned into just that: a lesson in persistance!

I've used JTM for the last 2 months without trouble. As a blog novice, this site has been a great way to get started. I've never had a single problem creating, editing, uploading photos etc. I'm sure you know where I'm going with this. I sat down yesterday morning with 10 minutes to spare. I knew exactly what photos and in what order I planned to enter them. You guessed it! Nothing worked. I couldn't upload a photo. I couldn't even write text. Inexplicably, nothing worked. I tried for longer than I wanted....and was almost late picking up Tim from pre-school. I kept trying throughout the day. I tried on different computers. I tried different photos....and nothing worked. Finally, late last night, 10 hours after beginning my efforts, as if I had never tried before.....poof, the pictures appeared and the entry was complete!

It would have been easier to change my plans. But I persisted.

It would have been easier to give-up. But I persisted.

It would have been easier to do anything at all but what I was doing. But I persisted.

It was a lesson learned. Looking back over the weekend, this same lesson was written all over it. I just wasn't paying attention (yet!).

My Saturday morning began with Tim's first swim lesson without mommy. We have a pool that he loves.......as long as he's wearing a life-jacket. We want him to be more independent and so, I signed him up for an 8 week session at the local YMCA. I was not prepared for the tears that ensued when the teacher called his name. I had to coax him into the water. Finally, he jumped in, laughed in shear delight for 30 minutes and, of course, had to be coaxed out of the water. I had to persist and because I did, he had the time of his life.

Gary came for a visit on Saturday and Sunday. Without sharing the details, it was a very difficult two days. My heart wants him to be in a completely different place maturity-wise. We've been pouring into him for the past 3 years and sometimes I am very discouraged at his choices (his very, very bad choices). As my husband reminded me, we have to persist. For him, we will persist. We have to. It's a matter of life (or death).

When I think about our adoption journey several of these lessons come to mind:

It would be easier to change our plans. But we persist.

It would be easier to give-up. But we persist.

It would be easier to do almost anything else. But we persist.

One day, we will know the joys of adoption first hand. We will have the smile of sweet success and the product of our persistance will be loved and cherished and adored. Until then, whether it takes 10 minutes, 10 weeks, 10 months or 10 years, we will persist! This is a lesson well-learned.

Would you believe this is the third time I've typed this entry? The other two were lost. I'm still persisting!