We woke up at 6:00am to be ready to head out by 7:00am (well, 7:00am-ish … we do have three, ya know!) and we do head out around 7:10! We travel south for an hour and make it to graduation with about 15-20 minutes to spare!

The kid’s foster mom has saved seats for us as close as she could get, but it’s a big crowd. Five Kindergarten classes are graduating! My daughter looks beautiful in her dress as she marches to the ever-familiar Pomp and Circumstance. The kids regale us for around 45 minutes or so, with songs and skits.

Afterward, we head to her classroom to pick up her report card and papers. She has a hard time saying goodbye to her teacher and a couple of her friends, and there are a few tears. Now that we’ve told the kids, it seems everyone knows it's out in the open, and many of the staff come up to us and tell us how much they will miss her, how sweet she is, and to tell her how much they hope she will write!

Her foster parents own a couple of businesses in town, and one of them is short staffed due to the holiday weekend. We’re asked if we would mind hanging out with the kids until dinnertime, and naturally, it’s our pleasure! So, we drive about 20 minutes or so, to the neighboring town to meet our adoption attorney. We have a great time at lunch with him, and get to meet the staff we’ve talked to so much. Our attorney invites us out to his home to meet his lovely wife and kids (he is the father of four, most, if not all of whom he has adopted).

Finally, it’s time to take the kids to their foster parents. Though I have reminded myself all week that this moment was coming, it’s still extremely hard for all of us. Our daughter begins to cry, and I mean really cry. This of course triggers her little brother and they’re both in tears. The foster mom tries to divert them so we can leave, but their cries echo in our ears and hearts.

The 90 minute drive back to Memphis is somber. We don’t really sleep, as we need to leave the hotel shortly after 3:00am to turn in the rental car, before our plane takes off.

The plane trips (just two this time) are uneventful, and we arrive home late morning, local time. Another good friend and brother in Christ picks us up from the airport. We arrive home and greet our cat as enthusiastically as she greets us.

It’s over and now begins the wait … again …