Initial Home Visit

We are slowly checking items off of our to-do list for DHS.  Yesterday was our initial home consult.  The flurry of activity that preceded it far outweighed the gravity of having our home "judged" for the first time!  I finally hung pictures that have been propped against walls in the guest rooms for the last two years.  I finished framing Mo's anniversary gift and hung that, too.  I even vacuumed the upstairs -- something I haven't done in at least a year.  :-)  Mo was as helpful as he could be given that he can hardly walk -- he is still recovering from his kn.ee surgery  and is forbidden from standing for too long or going up stairs.  Still, he scrubbed bathrooms, folded laundry, changed lightbulbs, and organized his office.  Our house is positively sparkling -- a fact that the DHS liason could not possibly fully appreciate in the ten minute walk-through we had!  Still, I'm glad for the informal nature and sweet disposition of our case worker.  She works specifically with the local organization we are using to help us through this process, and is doing her very best to make this smooth and as free from heartache as she can.  

The first interview was very basic -- where do we work, how long, where do we go to church, etc. (Yes, despite my personal views, we do attend church sporadically.  Mo doesn't share my outlook, and I try to support his opinions as I would want him to support mine).   We received a much more thorough questionnaire to fill out at our convenience, which we did last night.  It was fairly easy for me, as it basically assessed our childhood experiences.  I had a great childhood -- raised by my biological parents, whose marriage didn't fall apart until after I was in college.  I am lucky in that I have mostly happy memories of my childhood and a good relationship with my mother.  Mo, however, was very uncomfortable with a lot of the questions.  He had a turbulent childhood at best, and doesn't like to rehash it.  I was pleased that he was honest in his assessments, however, because, as I reminded him -- they aren't looking for perfection.  They are looking for us to have learned from our past and have discussed our own child-rearing practices.

The most surprising (and happy) thing I've discovered through this process is how on board Mo truly has become. He tells everyone he knows that we are adopting, and has received so much love and support in return.  I know that once he decides to do something, he goes for it with his whole being. Still, it's nice to see that personality trait applied to something so close to my own heart.    I am confident that -- as much as we both want this -- we will find a way to make it work, however it all plays out.