Mailed the Dossier

Our dossier is on its way to our agency's home office in Michigan.  The guy at UPS probably thought I was crazy when I said I wanted to watch him seal and label the envelope.  I had just finished paying for the shipping when he wished me a good night and held up the open and unaddressed envelope with a look as if to say, "I've got it from here."  Not so fast, I thought.  There's months worth of bureaucracy in that envelope, I explained.  He graciously humored me by slowing down and making sure the two-inch-thick envelope was sealed just right.  When I explained the route all those papers were going to take (Michigan, Washington and eventually China) and their importance, he found a few pieces of thin cardboard in the back room and slipped them inside the envelope so the paperwork with the fancy seals issued by the Secretary of State wouldn't slide around and crease. With all the leaps of faith I knew were involved with adoption, I never thought about the faith I'd have to put in postal systems, both domestically and internationally.  I watched the UPS employee drop our dossier package into a bin and with that, it was on its way.