August 25, 2006
update on the girls
well, name of the game now is hurry up and wait.
smsmh and i had our home study last monday and it went very well. the timing was perfect, too. the previous week our smoke alarm had gone wonky and was beeping in the middle of the night. unfortunately, the last time we painted, the cover got painted and i couldn't get it off to shut the thing up. so, screwdriver and hammer produced a mass of broken plastic and dangling wires. smsmh had asked me to replace all the smoke detectors the sunday before the visit. as the social worker toured the house, she paused under the detector, reached up and pushed the test button and smiled as the alarm went off. smsmh and i looked at each other with that "dodged a bullet" look and continued with the tour.
we completed the whole interview process and got our live scan done the following day at the local sheriff's station. the whole digital fingerprinting process is pretty cool from a geek perspective. so, now we're done with the home study and we're assuming that they're performing a detail background check.
but the next wrinkle in the fabric is that the monitor for visitation has changed and is wanting to have one large group visitation with all the family members rather than several small ones. bad idea on so many levels, from the fact that the family members will tear each other apart to each family member fighting for time with the girls. how can smsmh and i be expected to develop a 'relationship' with the girls with 10 other people all vying for the girls time? bleh.
the whole thing is a crazy process, one filled with poor communication, fuzzy requirements and lots of hurry up and wait.
Posted by jeff at August 25, 2006 7:18 AMComments
That doesn't sound fun at all, Jeff. Who thought of that?
I'm pulling for you.
Posted by: running blogfather at August 25, 2006 9:32 AMWow Jeff - what a process! I'm praying for you guys! And hopefully I will see you in the morning for a run :)
Posted by: Jessica at August 25, 2006 10:06 AMWow, lots of info today...
I agree, that visitation thing sounds terrible. It's like the premise of a bad reality TV show. But if you think there's a guiding hand in all of this, you should have faith that the proper outcome will happen despite the crazy process.
Good luck with it all.
Posted by: Donald at August 25, 2006 10:07 AMUgh - it sounds like an adventure, and not in a good way. I'll keep you guys in my prayers as you continue through this process.
Posted by: Dawn at August 25, 2006 10:08 AMYikes on that visitation plan. Clearly the SW is thinking of her time and not of the experience those poor girls are going to have. Bad idea. I hope SMSMH can leverage her social services know how to fix that problem post haste!
In any case it sounds like things are going pretty well and my fingers are still crossed for you.
Posted by: 21stCenturyMom at August 25, 2006 11:27 AMglad things are proceeding well, although the visitation part sounds hard.
Posted by: Angie at August 25, 2006 11:54 AMthat's wonderful, jeff! whew on the smoke alarms.
i've done the livescan a few times for immigration. yeah, it's cool.
i'm pretty sure my hubby and i will go through the excitement of adopting a little one one day. i can't get off my meds to get pregnant, and we feel very strongly about helping kids that have already been born.
keep us posted, and know that we're all praying everything goes smoothly.
by the way, you're the one that rocks!
It sounded like your last visit went really well. I think you two made a great connection with those girls.
Besides, we are all sending good vibes to you.
Posted by: Juls at August 25, 2006 7:23 PMthe monitored vists do sound like a complication, but in the 10-10-10 scenario, it doens't look too bad...
in 10 minutes it will be awkward, difficult
in 10 months it will likely be over
in 10 years, a memory to laugh at...
Posted by: tracy at August 26, 2006 8:17 AMman as a past member of that whole world..all I can say is..it's messed up. Sometimes you get great counselors, caseworkers and other times...DING BATS..THE LOT OF THEM
Posted by: brit at August 26, 2006 9:19 AMI hope things turn out for the best. I am glad your house "test" went well! Hopefully the visitation is better than your expectations.
Posted by: Elizabeth at August 29, 2006 6:59 PMPost a comment