I just need to tell you

I am not an organized person. You can tell the moment you come into our house. It's just not important to me (or not important enough to do it. If you want to come "make a place" for everything in my house, feel free, but bring a lot of labels).

But you can't adopt without some organization. The sheer number of documents (and the documents that must go with those documents) will overwhelm you if you don't. I may be a haphazard kinda person, but I have an ace up my sleeve: I'm excitable.

If you're like me, you can milk this excitement to get things organized. It comes in waves, so you ride that wave of I'MSOEXCITEDICAN'TBELIEVETHISISREALLYHAPPENING to make to-do lists and need-to-get lists and cost breakdowns and action plans. I think it happens for me about once a month (more frequently if there are a lot of exciting things going on with the adoption). I does mean it takes me longer to go to sleep during those times because my head is trying to complete lists (and no one can tell my brain that seriously you can't finish a packing list a year before you travel so be quiet and go to sleep mode). But usually when I get wound up about something, I have trouble sleeping anyway.

Honestly, when I get that way, it reminds me of what people call "nesting." But I don't think I can call it that because I've done it for as long as I can remember. I'd get a planner or a calendar at the beginning of the semester and put in all my tests and paper due dates (which were sometimes consulted and often not). I think it's more my something-big-and-good-is-happening mode.

It also works with research. I get excited about something and research my little heart out for a couple of days. And then I know a LOT about whatever. I would die if I were required to do research for a job, but get me excited about a topic and we're off!

It's not a big deal; I just know that adopting can sound (and is) pretty daunting, even from the outside, and I wanted to let you know that you can adopt without being a filing cabinet wizard, and I have faith we will make it to Uganda with all the documents (and the documents that support those documents) in tow. And all the other things we need to bring in order to live for a month. Oh right, and our children.