This week we checked a few things off the dossier list. First being my wound-too-tight attitude. As Bob (my husband) pointed out the other night, “Karen, I don’t see you having any fun with this.” He was right. Sure all this running around and handholding is labor intensive. Sure it won’t go right the first time or the second or the sixth. But there’s humor in all this. For instance, our trip to the city tax accessor office. This should’ve been a simple task. A harried clerk named Debra told us she was unable to verify our home’s square footage, or the number of rooms for that matter, and suggested we show the Kazak Ministry our house deed. Okay, call me stupid, but how do they (the city) determine the “fair” market value of our home, which they then base their ridiculously high property taxes on? After much coaxing, we convinced her to dig harder. And, low and behold, she found it.
Debra’s next challenge: copy the proof of home ownership document (which we provided) onto city letterhead. What we got back from her was a b&w copy of the letterhead. (Mind you we told her what we wanted AND provided her with written instructions.) So we opted to go next door to the notary office where hopefully we'd find someone who wasn’t "copier challenged." (Meanwhile Debra is getting crabbier by the moment.) We found a notary who successfully completed the letterhead task except she was unable notarize the document because her commission was up at the end of the year. (The Kazak Ministry requires all notaries to have a full year commission from date of signature—and one more thing, everything must be printed and signed in blue ink. But that’s another story.) Finally, we tracked down another notary who was deemed “qualified” and the document was successfully completed. In the end, it had all the makings of a Seinfeld episode. And I even managed to crack a smile.
One document down, 35 more to go. Stay tuned 'cause we're only getting started.
1 comment:
Hi Karen and bob. I have two daughters, Kristen and Michelle. Kristen and her husband adopted their two children, one from Russia and one from China. Michelle and her husband adopted their two children from Karaganda, Kazakhstan. Actually their baby has only been home 5 weeks. That adoption took 2 years. Adoption is a long, involved, emotional process that is so well worth it. Your outcome will be just awesome. My husband traveled to Kaz with them this last time because they also brought their older son, almost 8 years old. He was just so thrilled to see the orphanage he lived in as a baby. He even met his caregiver and the pediatrician who took care of him. My husband sais it was the trip of a lifetime. He said it took all he had not to cry when their newest son was placed in Michelle's arms. You and your husband will see so many things to tell your son some day. You will be living the experience of a life time. I will keep you both and your soon-to-be son in my prayers.
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