Maria update
Maria has officially finished her first track season! There were ups and downs. Maria is becoming very aware and angry about not being treated the same as her able bodied peers. She is starting to become quite demanding for things to be equal. It isn't always easy since many changes in track would need to happen at a state or federal level to be perceived as more equal to Maria. Sadly those kind of changes take time, energy and money. For me the thing that is the most frustrating is that many of the adults don't see how those inequalities feel to Maria. An example would be Maria participated and technically won 6 races, however she was only awarded with two ribbons because the other schools didn't recognize her races. So, on the day awards were handed out, I had an upset kid who didn't understand why she only got two ribbons when she was expecting six. I was torn on this one to be honest.....Maria needs to learn she might not always get the recognition she deserves and needs to find validation from within, but I also understood why she was upset she put in a lot of work and was the only one in her specific race.
Other than that Maria is finishing up the school year. There seems to be a lot of work this last month, but she is getting through it.
Adoption update
Waiting. I got word at the beginning of the month that I got my Article 5 letter. It has been translated and I'm waiting for my file to be signed off on and to be assigned a court date. So, right now the word is wait. I'm also waiting to hear on something regarding Maria.....not sure when that answer will come. Waiting isn't always easy or fun, but it is part of the process. I do have a $1000 matching grant right now through our RR fundraising site. I'm thinking about putting a fundraiser together to help with the final fees and meet this matching grant.