Next milestone and some praises!!!

Tomorrow’s the next “milestone” in working through the Foster/Adopt process for me! It’s the Orientation meeting and is being held at the Beckley DHHR office at 6pm. I bought a 2-inch binder and went ahead and organized the information I’ve already gathered and will be using it as my “Adoption Binder” to help in keeping everything together. Up until now I’d been storing everything in just a mailing envelope but thought this would be better.

Last Monday, I headed up past my parents for a doctors appointment to discuss my various medications and current health. I brought up wanting to foster parent and adopt and we discussed that in depth. He feels the same way my rheumatologist does about my health problems and my abilities and has agreed with my caring for children two years of age and up, but no children younger than two. We went ahead and scheduled another appointment for February 3rd to do the physical that is required as part of the home study process. By then I think I will have had three of the training sessions (if we do one a week) and hopefully should already have any forms I need to complete that. I’ll be bringing it up early on with either the “home-finder” or my caseworker (still trying to learn who all does what) to try to ensure that. I also stopped at my parents and was able to bring back several things with me that I had bought over the last several years and had been storing up there in preparation for such a time as this.

I also brought up, with my landlord, the subject of needing to move into a two bedroom as soon as my lease is up here June 1st. He manages several properties and has both apartments and houses that he rents out. I expressed my desire for a house over an apartment and he’s fine with that; he told me to remind him about the end of February and he will start actively looking for one for me! That’s my biggest praise of all right now! I know you can raise kids in an apartment but I’ve never felt really right about it. I’ve always felt that kids need a yard to play in, not a parking lot. It will also give me a place to finally hook up the washer and dryer my landlord’s graciously allowed me to store in the basement of the building here but that hasn’t been possible for me to hook up and actually use them. I also brought up wishing to be able to have a garden again and my landlord is fine with that. That’s one thing I miss more than anything else from living at Karen’s; I used to spend a good hour or two almost daily working in the gardens we used to grow and I would love to be able to have one again this year, even if it might be considered a slightly late start. I was on cloud nine almost all last weekend when he said he didn’t think it’d be a problem finding a house for me!

I’ll probably post again either Friday or Saturday to let everyone know how the orientation meeting went and what’s next after that. Hope everyone’s New Year has started off great!