Adoption Update : Social Worker Visits I & II

A few weeks ago we had our first meeting with our social worker who is working our adoption case for Families First. It was a brief meeting (only an hour) and was just a chance for the three of us to get to know one another a bit before we delve into the serious stuff. Our SW is a very nice woman, and the entire tone of the interview was not "I am judging your fitness for adoption", but rather "Let's get you some babies already!" Any time she asked us a question, she would listen to our answer and then describe how she was going to fill out the information on our adoption recommendation for best effect. It was, for me, a great putting-of-at-ease. She asked us how we met, which degenerated into us telling her The Story, at which she laughed (as most people do), so much so that she ended up saying "I've been doing this for 18 years and I have never heard anything like that!" So we all hit it off just fine, and made appointments for the rest of our interviews. I had my solo interview last Wednesday, and Wanda has hers next week, at which time we'll also do our final group meeting here at the house, and that will finish up the home study requirement on the road to adoption, excepting a few more forms to sign (always with the forms!).

For my solo visit, I'll start by saying that on Tuesday both Wanda and I started developing itches in our throats, and slight headaches. We figured this to be a result of the incredibly stuffy conditions from Monday night's ASOC rehearsal, but as the day progressed Tuesday we both got slowly, steadily worse. Wednesday we woke up with fully formed colds. Wednesday after lunch I drove the 3 minutes to the social worker's office with a bundle of kleenex and trepidations firmly in hand.

It turns out, I needn't have worried. Our SW continues to be a gentle and positive presence, and while she asked me interesting questions about my family and the period of time both directly before and directly after the divorce our family worked its way through, she was never once judgmental. She instead was interested in my thoughts regarding my own actions, reactions and the buildup and cleanings of various scar tissues which inevitably form around such an event. She asked other questions about things she found of interest in the adoptive autobiography I wrote for them, questions I found interesting and decidedly insightful, as they suggested that she wasn't just going through the motions, but that she had read and thought about my writing. I find the fact that someone else is working as hard as we are at this enormously comforting.

So, next week is Wanda's solo interview, then our last family interview, and then we begin the final phases of paperwork collection and cleanup. There's still so much to do!

Adoption Update : Home Study I

This afternoon I received a call from our social worker from the home study organization! We are officially scheduled for our first meeting with them this Friday at 10 AM. Thank goodness they aren't coming to the house just yet - we need to vacuum in the worst way! Excavation of the area rug in front of the sofa would surely reveal fossils from the mesozoic age. Even better, their office is only about a 3 minute drive from us, right across the interstate on Clairmont - how convenient for all!

Tonight, however, is Valentine's Day, so Wanda and I are going to the Atlanta Botanical Garden's Valentine's in the Garden event, which looks to be very nice (and COLD) indeed. We consider all outdoor walking in cold wether to be training for Paris, though, so it's all perfectly fine by us.

Adoption Update - Major Step!

It's been a while since we updated this, mostly because we were in the process of plowing through paperwork. I am delighted to report that we have completed the enormous stack of paperwork required to get our home study going and have shipped it off to the agency for processing.

We're on our way for sure now!

The adoption retreat turned out to be a really good thing. We got lots of shit organized, got ourselves in touch with what's left to do and the time frame in which we could get it done. We're pretty much on target now, so the next step is to get our first home study visitation in so they can tell us just exactly how baby-proof our house needs to become before we actually start bringing babies in.

Meanwhile, have we told you we're going to Paris in a few weeks? We figure while we're childless we're taking advantage of being able to just pick up and go to, er... pick up and go to Paris! We'll post pictures we take here when we return (it's not until the weekend of the 23rd, which is Wanda's birthday, which is ostensibly the reason for this trip (tho really it's a joint birthday party venture)).

One more thing to add - the new GG Kay book, Ysabel, is out and sitting on our sofa waiting for me to crack the spine. YAY!!!