Beginnings...

The beginnings of the nursery...

3 Down, 33 To Go?

Three months down. Hopefully only 33 to go.

I finished painting the nursery and repainting the vanity/changing table. Now on to working on the quilt.

The foster-to-adopt is still on hold. Right now, there is too much going on in my life and I can't make a good choice right now. I'm working on reducing my anxiety about this whole waiting deal and working on my finances - another source of anxiety.

Easy Paperwork

I'm nearly done with the state paperwork for Foster licensing - it's actually much easier than China's. No document certification or Fed Ex. However, I did have to get a shot. There are still a couple of things that I need to take care of, namely finishing the required courses. They will be finished by the end of the month.

Then, it's time to turn in the application. That may be the hardest part. It's like you're heading to Paris, having planned out the entire trip. You're excited about everything that is going happen - you've saved for it, you've researched it, you've seen photos and imagined yourself in them, everything revolved around this trip. Except when you got on the plane, they announced that the flight was going to at least three/four times longer than you thought. Someone announces several times that the flight to Denmark is much shorter, but that's not what you planned for. You think to yourself that you've put so time and effort into going to Paris and didn't want to go to Denmark. You also think that life is passing you by at a rapid rate and Denmark has just as many sights, museums and restaurants, do you really want to sit on the plane until you are literally middle-aged?

How do you decide to go with Plan C, when Plan B hasn't really failed?

It wasn't that bad...

I survived my first round of foster-to-adopt classes - it wasn't as nearly scary as I thought it would be. There were no actual tears, although there was some welling-up. The presenters kept saying "this portion of the course is really heavy, we don't mean it to be a downer, but we do want to present the range of situations..." but really, they had nothing new to say. I've heard it all almost all before (poop in heating ducts aside). Hopefully, by sticking with younger children (those not able to open the heating vents, I'll be ok.

The only part I had a "oh crap" reaction to was the "watch your pets" portion. As in, "your pet may be tortured to death" watch your pets. The thought that I may put my current baby in jepardy is more than a little scary.

Graduation

Last night was graduation for my students - kids that were at one time in my class, including my most memorable class. I'm going to miss seeing them around campus... I'm so excited for them, beginning their journey into the exciting adventure of life. A couple will just be around town, attending the local community college, but most will be like I was - eager to shed the small town for big city excitement.

Thursday, I attended the orientation class for Foster-Adopt with the state. It was surprisingly upbeat. I've heard a lot of stories about how people who want to adopt aren't treated to kindly, given the priority for reunification for SW... but this presenter had nary a negative word. It was also interesting that I'm pretty sure that all but 3 people were there to either foster-adopt or just adopt. Those three were kinship placements. Again, I was surprised by that, given the horror stories I heard. I actually felt a little more positive than I have in the last few months.

Today is the first full class. Again, I've heard that these classes are meant to scare people out of the program. I have to admit the pictures of abuse on Thursday were hard to watch - I hope I'll make it through the day without bursting into tears.