Three and a half months - An adoption story

Self delusion can be a handy tool when the object of your desires seems so far out of reach that shooting for the stars would seem close in comparison. But that’s how it felt when my wife and I talked about adoption.

I couldn’t tell you if we were trying to fool ourselves over the years or if we honestly were at peace with the possibility of not being parents.

Maybe we took the difficulties in adopting as a sign that we were not meant for that lifestyle. That the cost was to great or the commitment to much, maybe it was losing our annually trip to Las Vegas. Whatever the reason behind our rationalization… it all went away with a single phone call.

The call was brief but its message will last a lifetime. We were given the chance be parents and just like that all of the doubts disappeared like the way you forget the details of a dream moments after waking. This would be our new reality, but it was not without obstacles.

Now anyone who has went through the adoption process knows how in depth and time consuming the process can be. Paper work, back ground checks, counseling, home visits, court dates, lawyers, meetings, a lot of cash, The list goes on. It’s a detailed look at your entire life that would make a IRS audit look like a night out on the town by comparison. A normal adoption process, once a birth mother has been secured, can take as long as nine months or longer from start to finish, we were give three and a half months.

Under normal circumstances this would not be possible and the child would go to a temporary home until all of the required process has been completed, but we would not settle for that. nope. not at all.

We contacted the adoption agency and met with our social worker. We explained our situation. The agency decided to work with us to expedite the adoption process as fast as possible as long as we committed to completing all of the required sessions, tests, home visits and, of course, were able to pay all of the fees on time.

The next three and a half months was a mixed bag of emotional turmoil, what if's, and preparing. We were transforming our lives in a third of the time we thought it would take, but that made us all the more ready, or at least as ready as any soon to be parent can be.

Then came the day that we have waited for.

I will not go into the details here about the next two days, that part I would rather keep between us and the birth parents, at least for now. so lets skip ahead to two Days later…. and skip
Hey, welcome back. -)

Now by this point all of the formalities have been taken care of and the birth parents have left the hospitable. All of the paper work has been signed and filed.

Now was the moment we have waited for. The three and a half month whirlwind had finally calmed. One moment we were parents to be and then,moments later, in a private room flooded by the morning sun, became a family.
It is now four years later. Our son is as active as can be. He is full of smiles, questions and a toddler’s zest for life. He, of course, has his days were I wonder if he is part Tasmanian Devil and part evil villain but even then, the doubt never returned, nope. Not at all

Image credit: esudroff/Pixabay