Amy decided that she wanted O and I to raise her son Chris. She was ready to go in and sign the papers relinquishing her rights to D**CFS this morning, with the understanding that we would be adopting him. The social worker was on board, just clearing up a few details about who needed to be present for signing the paperwork.
You can imagine when I found out this morning that this was actually happening, I was walking on air. O was walking on air. We were grateful and humbled and feeling so blessed.
For exactly one hour.
I called one of my dearest girlfriends, Karen, and told her the news. She was cautiously thrilled for us, knowing that NOTHING is for sure when it comes to the foster system, having been a foster mom herself.
I told her that we were keeping perspective but that we were choosing to be excited for the moment, expecting a curve ball to come flying in at any point.
*cue ringing phone*
Literally.
When the SW spoke with the county’s adoption worker, she said they wouldn’t be able to place Chris with us because since he is under the age of three, he is still considered an infant and would be easy to place. Therefore he should go into their database and be adopted in-state.
Please keep in mind that both her SW and HER supervisor have been begging Amy to think of someone to place him with. Begging. There was no qualifier stating that it had to be someone in-state. I would have thought they’d be happy to be presented with a home studied and approved foster and adoptive home – one where the people already have a relationship with Chris and Amy. Apparently not.
Amy is livid and heartbroken, knowing that there is a distinct possibility that she may lose her son and never see him again.
The SW is livid and working hard to get this mess sorted out. (The first step is to establish that O and I have a relationship with Chris, which we do.)
O and I are feeling a familiar sense of déjà vu where we get so close to our dream we can almost, almost touch it, and a curveball comes from nowhere and smacks us in the head.
There is still hope. The SW may be able to establish our relationship with Chris to the adoption worker’s satisfaction. Also, there is a court hearing later this week and if Amy gets up there, stands her ground, and says, “They asked me to find someone I knew to place my son with. THAT is what I did and THAT is where I want him placed” the judge may simply rule for that to happen. There is also the possibility of some new turn of events that we couldn’t even foresee – one that is good for our “team”.
But for now, all we can do is to wait for the phone to ring. In the meantime I’ll go take some tyl*enol for this pounding headache. And maybe turn the ceiling fan on and take a nap. Those curveballs hurt sometimes.
What a crappy, crappy day to have re-started Weigh&t Watch$ers.
