The Wall Street Journal just ran a piece on International adoption in the workplace that hopefully will have the baleful eye of a many a CEO upon it.

Well does this humble typist remember the anxiety of the wait. The first time, it just went on and on because we really had no idea how and when that "pack your bags and GO!" call would come in. The second time was no better, because we had too many ideas. The time stretched and compressed like a zydeco accordion.

Thankfully, the newsroom wherein I ply my questionable trade is a place that's somewhat well-informed and tolerant of unusual working arrangements. Even so, I remember thinking it'd be a lot easier if I could wave around some ultrasounds or had something counting down the trimesters, months, weeks and days to a due date. But no - we were simply waiting for an invisible bureaucratic machine to stamp some papers and send us halfway around the world. This was something that had to be carefully explained several times over.

The company in whose fields I metaphorically toil is pretty good with the adoption benefits. I mean, we're no Citizens Financial ($20,960 reimbursement? Why am I not a CPA again?), but not too far below Dow Corning. I never would have suspected this business to be capable of it, and yet there we were - so, always, ask. Whoever you work for. Even if it's yourself.

You could try showing your boss (or yourself) how the federal government does it.

You can point the human resources officers toward the Adoption.com Employer Benefits Page and a listing of International Adoption (ahem) Grants.

And, if that doesn't work, you can always try raising general awareness by getting an informational copy of "The Oriental in Minnesota", an informational booklet just as true today as it was in 1949. Or, well, maybe not that last one. (Though really, check it out.)

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