i-600a: Mailed. Obsessing: Temporarily on Hold for Fabulous Parental Visit

So that's done. I am left with nothing but a receipt, a copy and a lingering sense that I have either forgotten something or mailed it to the wrong processing address, but there's nothing I can do about that!
Which is a good thing, because the Parents Granola are here, and we haven't announced yet. We have every confidence in their being right on board with this program once it's rolling--and in fact I'm hoping that when we travel, they will come with us--but Grandpa Granola is a notorious second-guesser, worrier and parade-rainer, and even felt that the production of Beau (before the arrival of the much-loved Beau himself) might be too much for his Lola, already overwhelmed with babycare and scarcely recognizable as the go-getter he put through law school. (Successful freelancing and the publication of my book have eased that particular worry, too.)

So we're going to hold off, because we also haven't told the three yet (too long to wait, to many "ifs"). In fact we've told a total of three people. Poptart unexpectedly announced to our closest friends early in the process (which worked out well as it allowed us to go over that list, that awful list, with Dr. J) and I told a friend who's on the infertility train and looking this way.

Why not, you ask? Why not tell people, why not tell everyone? I've thought about that a lot too, and here it is: I'm so excited to tell people that I want to really enjoy it. I want to savor knowing before everyone else (shades of the first trimester!) and I want to be able to tell them, when I do tell them, we ARE doing it, here's who we're doing it with, our paperwork is done, our dossier in progress! In fact I may not even tell until we have a referral (although I can't believe I will be able to wait that long...plus we're going to have to explain those Mandarin lessons somehow!) (Seriously. Poptart has always wanted the kids and us to learn Mandarin. I had to convince him not to start Bart in kindergarden, and apparently I was wrong!)

So that's why.
Meanwhile, a good chance to breathe--everything I can do is in train, anyway. If the Homeland application comes tomorrow (and I really hope it will) I will fill it out and flip it back to them faster than you can say Xingfu!, but other than that, I'm going to enjoy my parents and the kids and a good weekend. Plus Beau's birthday party and Easter. So it's not like we're not busy!