So I’m starting this post off negatively but if you’ve
wondered where we are it’s because we had a failed placement and it's taken me awhile to process it and write it out.
Now before we get into the thick of it let’s talk
basics. Back in May we signed with a
second agency and after a possible match, which I was dragging my feet on and
then on day 3 the agency said wait, whoa don’t send in the match fee, we moved
on and would eventually match with K. (yes another K name).
Now K was a quiet but an honest young lady. Our attorney however put a doubt in our mind
and it would cause some chaos that I’d maneuver in just a few very
stressful days but it worked out.
We matched the end of May and by June I was working the
attorney circuit looking for an attorney to represent her and I planned to go
out and meet her and her son. It was an awkward
meeting because again she was a quiet person and I’m not good with small
talk. However, I found her to be sweet and her
son to be a typical 3 year old. I
enjoyed meeting and spending time with them both.
So we were texting everyday or every few days and things
seemed to be progressing in a natural way.
She was working on getting herself in a better position once birth and
placement happened and we were trying to make sure she had what she needed as
she needed it.
Now the rub is; looking back; that she hinted at the things
that would eventually undo our adoption plan.
Her family was happy she had an adoption plan they didn’t support her at
all. She used to be close to mom until….(not
important). So ya the signs were there but I didn’t catch them per se. I think I instinctively got it because I was
so guarded but it wasn’t there at the time in the fore front. They always say
in adoption literature and blogs if the family isn’t supportive it’s a BIG RED
FLAG! Because 9 out 10 times they come forward at the hospital and offer
support thus screwing the adoptive parents who’ve been supporting them for
months as was the case with us.
Incoming RANT:
Oh how I’d love to be able to get restitution on what we spent on support but you know it’s not an adoptive
family friendly environment, in fact we have zero protection in these
matters. Honestly we’re the ones taking
the financial and emotional risks (and the damn scammers that come with that –
hello emotional trauma; again no recourse – WTF!!!!).
Ok Rant over and I feel better, moving on…..
So what happened in our case? Well the very simplified
version is she asked for a day alone to reflect and have time to which we
agreed. Our friends were coming into
town that day from out of state so we’d only planned on stopping in to visit
her and the baby in the morning and then heading out. She however then sent the late night text the
night before asking for a bit of space so we obliged.
We met our friends at a restaurant/pub in the area where we
were staying. We had talked of going to
the zoo or maybe visiting another local historical home. Unfortunately while my friend and I were
outside I got a text asking me to come by first thing in the morning that she
needed to talk to us but everything was ok. I showed my friend and said that’s
it it’s over she’s going to parent. My friend
the forever optimist said no, you don’t know that, just keep the faith. I knew.
She’d call less than 10 mins later to tell me that she couldn’t do it
and that she was only doing it because she didn’t have support and now she did
and she just couldn’t go through with it. So bottom line is mom abandoned her
when she was pregnant and homeless with a 3 year old but as soon as baby was
born in the hospital no way could baby go to a family outside theirs.
Now It actually happens quite often but if I’d
read the signs properly I’d have had those questions answered before we ever
got to delivery. There were other signs, some quite blatant but I’m not into
the details just the basics here. Mind
you during this time my mom is excitedly asking me if she can post pics and
info and I keep her at bay for 2 days and then this happened and I texted “She
is going to parent” ya that’s not how I wanted this to go. As much as I wanted it to be right, it wasn’t. I wish her the absolute best, honestly. She is a good, kind-hearted, and loving lady. She has 2 boys to raise and I do hope that
offer of support for her and the kids continues to be there for her. I will never not think of her and hope she is doing well.
Now the best part is we have friends in with their son from
out of town visiting when I get the phone call.
Don, our friend’s hubby and their son are off playing games and I want
Don to have a good day. I walk off to
the bathroom not once but twice during our visit to cry in a stall.
My friend agrees not to say anything and buys me a shot of
vodka (so glad to not be driving!), which woo took me a few sips to
finish. We then decide to go downtown
and walk around (mind you my friend knows we’ll be leaving and wants us to see
the city we’re in before we go. Also
note Don doesn’t know yet!).
After our trip to downtown Nashville to shop, walk, goof off, and eat,
they drive us back to our car and follow us back to our friend’s place where we
are staying. It wasn’t until they left
that I told Don what had happened 10 hours earlier. We talked and he went to bed, I then went
downstairs and into the family room of our friends where we are staying and told them.
Now I have no idea how I was able to keep it together for 10
hours before telling Don but I did because I wanted him to have a good day with
our friends and not think about the adoption. He even said why didn’t you tell me and I told
him X and X were here and I wanted us to have good memories and a great
visit. Mind you we normally take a trip
to Atlanta for Labor Day so we’d cancelled that because hello, becoming parents is top
priority, but ya now it’s cancelled and we aren’t. So the trip home was rather
somber as we explained where the baby was.
We had a car seat and stroller combo and a newborn sleeper that had to
be shipped home. I even had my carry on
pulled by TSA because of baby stuff (my carry on had our diaper bag with
clothes, diapers and wipes) and we had no baby; ugh!(side note the guy was super nice he was just doing his job). However the best part was we could’ve taken
the baby stroller/car seat combo and baby wrap back for a refund but we chose
to bring it home as a symbol that we will be parents! We both still know we’ll
be parents but we’re waiting for the right person to come along and make it happen
for us and expand our family.
The planets must have aligned because next week we are going to Dragon Con and meeting our friend’s. We definitely
need this trip to be ourselves outside this process. We found new cheap flights and free hotel which is beyond abnormal (bye-bye points we’ve spent you all and
then some). I’m super excited because
just last week we couldn’t go and I was a bit mopey. I’m super excited to go even though half our
friends can’t make it. We’ll have a
great time with our friends who experienced our heartbreak with us and helped
us through that. Did I mention I'm super excited!
So where does that leave us now:
We are coming up on 3
years live in a short few weeks and we’re only 8 families out of the top 50
with our agency, which means the 50 longest waiting families so maybe this is
where we are meant to be. Who can say for sure? I do know that yesterday I opened Instagram
and I saw this posted by a friend and fellow long waiter in this process, who
has recently adopted, and it really struck me so I asked if I could share it.
So that's it we've survived a failed placement and are so very lucky for our support network. We have adjusted and are moving on in the right direction. Hopefully our meant to be is just around the corner.
