I'm not actually lactose intolerant, but I do have an allergy to a protein that is found in milk and other dairy products. Nevertheless, the effect is basically the same. Since arriving in Dallas they have fed me nothing but cheese. Cheese with a side of lettuce, cheese with a side of enchiladas, cheese with a side of eggs...you get the picture and I am in hell. Yesterday afternoon I was in so much pain that I could barely stand or sit upright. It doesn't end there, as I am sure you are aware. There is cramping, distended abdomen, really strange noises coming from my mid-section (I said mid-section, not butt although it does eventually get there too). Today I rushed from the lunch room (cheese with a side of chicken) feeling quite nauseous. Let's just say I spent a good portion of my break in there.
It isn't always this bad. Since it is an allergy, the severity of my symptoms tends to depend on how many other allergens are also attacking me. In the summer I can have a hamburger with little or no problems, but in the fall and in January (with the higher mold counts) I develop amnesia until it rips my gut up.
Ok, change of subject. About 2 weeks ago I learned that I am finally through the review room. Yay! I know it doesn't sound like such a big deal after I have already been waiting this long (20 months on Sunday!), but for me it was. They could have been nit-picky and asked for more medical documentation. It would have been easy to get since I am healthy, but I didn't want to get pulled out of my LID queue.
Kristen reminded me yesterday of what yesterday's date was. Honestly, I'm not sure how I forgot it since it has really been on my mind alot in the week leading up to it. October 4, 2006 was the day my agency's website posted that they had a limited number of single slots available. If you look back through my blog towards the beginning you will what a miracle that was (not for them, but for me). Two days prior to that I had called inquiring about a spot and the director of the China program told me it wasn't going to happen because they knew China was getting ready to disqualify singles (did I just make up a Bushism? Not sure that is the correct use of that word). I could have written them off, but two days later I felt God urging me to go back. Up until this point I had not decided to start the process--I wanted to wait a year since I was flat broke. On October 4th, the nudge God had placed on my heart the month before suddenly became a very annoying rap on the head "do it, do it, do it!". Thankfully, I listened and checked the website. On October 6th, they called to tell me they had received my packet, but they had questions about whether I was be accepted by the CCAA. They didn't want to waste a slot on someone who wouldn't pass muster. After a very long weekend, my agency called me to say I was approved to begin the process and to GET ON IT!
Even though the wait has been long and my journey has taken some twists and turns, I never lose the absolute wonderment over God's perfect timing. I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I had not heeded God's suggestion and I shudder to think of it. Even though my daughter is not yet home, she (or the thought of her) has opened my heart and world in ways nothing has before. She has changed the very course of my life and that is an amazing thing.
I love you, baby girl!
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