Waiting In The Wings

Jeff and I grew up in the performing arts. The thing about mounting a show, no matter what kind, it that it takes months of preperation, and then one day the weeks and months have slipped away and it's showtime. The performers are consumed by a nervous energy that everyone shares- it hums through their bodies and crackles in the air as they listen to the orchestra play the overture. Then the curtain rises and they stand in the wings, gripped in anxiety and anticipation- waiting for the moment they will take the stage. Your heart pounds and your ears ring, but there is no turning back...and in truth you don't want to because you know that once you're out there everything will be fine and every fiber of your being will tell you that you are alive and doing what you were meant to do. Then the moment comes, and you step on to the stage, and your performance begins.
At 11:00am PST today, the orchestra started the overture: Group 102 got "The Call" telling them that they are parents, and the name and some brief information about their daughters-to-be. This means that there is no one ahead of us anymore. We, and the rest of Group 103, are officially "on deck" - waiting in the wings for the "First Call" to tell us that China has issued a travel request for us, and therefore our referrals are on the way. This could, literally, come any day now; but probably not until after the 1st of April. Once we have that call, it's usually only a week or 10 days until the curtain goes up and we have our referral ...and finally see Tenley's face.
It is quite possible that Groups 102 & 103 will take the stage together and head for China at the end of May.
I sit here, consumed by nervous energy, awed at all I have to do...and feeling like I somehow missed dress rehersal. Ready or not, the orchestra is playing, we are in the wings, and I have a feeling that the next few weeks are going to fly by and we'll be standing on stage in China with Tenley in our arms before we know it!