Frustration

Okay, first I'm going to start this post by saying that I really do like my agency. I really do. I know I should trust them in all aspects of my adoption but I can't help by be a little leery and untrusting. I guess I'm frustrated because information is not as forthcoming as it should be...it's not just my agency as I realize...it seems it's common in a lot of agencies. My agency will answer the questions honestly but you have to ask them...they don't volunteer the information upfront...it's like some of this process is so top secret that we the prospective adoptive parents aren't privy to. This leads me to the whole e-mailing the consulate about making sure your paperwork is there. When someone who is in the same shoes as you (getting ready for travel...actually I am waiting for TA) says they had a paperwork issue that caused them stress and almost lost a consulate appointment and recommended checking up on it, I think I'm probably going to follow that advice because I sure as heck don't want to be stressed out when I'm getting ready to travel. Yes, I did e-mail them and when I talked to my agency I was advised that I shouldn't have. According to them, there is a breakdown in communication between, well, honestly I can't remember who, but the entity who is responsible for getting our paperwork to the consulate is not getting it done. But, it's no big deal...only a few phone calls to clear it up and has never postponed travel. Okay...this is why I'm frustrated...why don't they tell us this right after we get our LSC so we can be prepared and not blindsided and number 2, why can't we prevent that stress right before travel? Hello...we are already fragile people. Many of us have waited for a long time and now we've been matched. Some of our children are very ill and we want to get to them ASAP and any thought of delay freaks us out a lot. And to top it off, seriously, if we've been waiting as much as some of us have and our agencies have told us a lot of stuff, aren't we a little leery about what they say is the truth? And you know what else? I'm an American citizen and isn't the consulate there to serve American citizens and answer my questions? Don't I technically pay their salaries with my taxes? So, it's understandable that we freak out over things like this. We're super sorry that we didn't know we weren't supposed to contact the consulate...nobody every told us this and when we hear about problems, we want to solve it right then. I'm off my soapbox and I feel better that I vented my frustrations.