04 January 2008

extending the metaphor

When I last lived in England, I rode the 139 from my lovely little house in Chalk to the next-but-one village of Higham where I taught. (It's pronounced High-um and not Hig-um, btw.) The 139 was not the most reliable of buses. It had recently had its times cut and no one was happy with the change. It did provide an easy chit-chat opportunity. Everyone was dissatisfied with the scheduling and reliability of the new timetable. Apparently the 139 used to be very efficient and dependable. It used to run like clockwork. But that wasn't the case when the new timetable went into effect.

The 139 was scheduled to stop at the end of my street every half hour from 7:18 a.m. to 9:48 p.m. (It also ran hourly in the early mornings at 5:18 a.m. and 6:18 a.m. Can you imagine my joy when I needed to be at school early and had to catch the 6:18 A.M. bus? Not hard to imagine...) The biggest problem with the 139 was reliability. Especially during the morning hours it was common to have a bus running late or even not show up at all. If a driver didn't show up for work, then there was no bus. The problem was, there was no way to know if a bus was on time, late or skipped. So, each morning I'd arrive at the bus stop by 7:10 a.m. And I'd wait.

If my bus was skipped, I could still make it to school on time by catching the 7:48 bus. It was CLOSE, but do-able if everything ran smoothly and to schedule. The problem came when the 7:18 got skipped and the 7:48 was late. What to do, what to do?

At the top of my street and down a block on the main road, there was another bus stop. It was for another bus company. I don't know the number of that route, so you can see it wasn't familiar to be. It was rumored to stop near my school. When I needed to be at school and the 139 was critically late, I'd start wondering about heading up to the other bus stop. It was a dilemma! In true Murphy's fashion, the 139 would surely arrive as soon as I left for the other bus. (And, you can't psych out Murphy's Law and pretend to go. The Law knows. It can't be manipulated like that. You have to commit.) And, I didn't ride that other bus. I didn't know the schedule or where exactly I'd end up.

That's where I am right now in my long adoption process. The bus is incredibly late. I'm wondering if it's time to stop waiting for the 139 and take another bus. Everyone in Russia is on holiday right now. There are some questions that need to be answered here before I head up the street to the other bus stop. I wish there was a point halfway where I could stand and watch both buses and then dash for the one that comes first. However, not only is that not physically possible (bend in the road), but I'm not a runner. I'd miss them both.

And that is something I'm not willing to do.

(p.s. I'm tired of looking at that long timeline over in the sidebar and am thinking about deleting it. At the time, those seemed like milestones. And, I know it does help other people keep track of my convuluted, atypical ride... We'll see.)

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh Kate..I am just so sorry that you have had to wait sooo long and make so many changes ...I know it won't help much but it is worth the wait you will see...but with seeing the kids in Russia daily I am sure that makes it even harder...

Anonymous said...

Sigh - I so can understand your bus anaology...SW is coming today for 3rd ppr...maybe I can find out what happened with the bus...

Tami said...

I can't even begin to imagine how difficult, frustrating, aggrivating, excrutiating, ect., ect., this has become. All I can offer is encouragement to hang in there...and I know you've been hanging for a long time...and follow your gut. It will tell you what to do. ((hugs))

6blessings said...

I'm so sorry your wait has been so long. I wish I could snap my fingers and the right bus would drive by slowly with flashing lights so you could get on.

kate said...

the flashing lights would be much appreciated, kim! that's exactly what i'd love to see driving up the street.

Lauri said...

Hugs.... wishing only the best for you..... I will spare you the divine timing speech since I know that is not what you need right now.

You have every right to feel what you are feeling.


Big cyber hugs.... you are not alone

ferenge mama said...

ugh. that damn bus.

I am so sorry that this process has been ridiculously long for you. I can't imagine how strong you are and have been to carry on with it so far.

I think the right thing to do will become apparent. Or at least that's how I deal with it when facing a similar conundrum... try to wait until it becomes more clear. But that is easier said than done, of course!!

Rachael said...

I know you're not a runner (I mean you said you're not) but another metaphor comes to mind...

...when I hear your timeline, it reminds me of running a marathon and hitting the proverbial "wall" at the 20-mile mark: the hardest part to push through, when it seems like you'll NEVER cross the finish line, but yet it's just a few miles ahead.

Also, somehow you were planning on running a 10K, but found yourself unexpectedly in a marathon.

Cheering you on from the sidelines though. I do know how tough the 20-mile is in an actual marathon, but I can only imagine how difficult your "race" is getting for you at this juncture. I just know though that you're going to get a very special medal at the finish line.

(...whichever bus you take. your metaphor is better. :)).

Kay B said...

Waiting, ugh!! Not knowing - double Ugh!!! I wish I could look into a crystal ball and tell you which bus to take. You have had impossible delays and I know what that feels like. Hang in there, we'll keep praying for forward movement to get your daughter(s) home soon.

Annie said...

I also feel so sorry for you... Our adoptions have been so easy in comparison - and inexpensive, too! I just wonder if you could use our agency...surely you could use our same people in Russia. We have adopted from the Ivanovo region and have lots of connections there. Our agency has coordinated independent adoptions for us. I do not know if it would make any difference that you are English and live in Russia - I can ask! We have gotten each of our children in 9 months, and really it took that long only because I diddled around....

Holly said...

As far as I'm concerned, buses in England suck. There, I said it. While in London, on one of the touristy double decker red busses, we ran into a "bus" issue. Ok, so ours was a newbie driver issue. We stopped the day prior to be sure to find out from the attendant which bus (time wise) was the best to catch in order to see the changing of the guard at the palace. Such and such time is the best...get there early enough for good seating, etc. Ok, done.

So we got on that bus, the newbie bus driver got the bus wedged after taking a wrong turn, and our bus blocked all traffic headed towards the big event. I even have a picture of it. We had to walk the rest of the way, and with a gimpy mom (who later had both knees replaced) and a grandma with a stress fracture she was hiding from us...well, we literally caught the backsides of the procession.

Moral? Not sure there is one. I just hope you catch the right bus.

Anonymous said...

I wish I had words of wisdom, or even just good advice for you. Ultimately though, every turn in the road leads you to your child(ren). And so, once you get there, it will all become clear.
It's such a difficult place to be, wanting some sign to show you which way to turn. I've been there. Missed buses myself and even watched them drive off without me... very hard on the heart.
I wish you strength to continue and wisdom to decide which road to take.
hugs,
Heidi