Barbara was as good as her word. Her boss rang me at 10am this morning. "Barbara said you'd like me to explain about the adoption course and the process." Hmm. Not quite what I was expecting.
"My understanding from our conversation yesterday is that Barbara was going to ask you about 2 things. Firstly, whether the medical that I had done a year ago will still be OK or whether I'll need another one and secondly she said that you would be able to confirm for us if we would get a place on the course in June, if we're able to proceed with the process following the medical assessment," I said, spotting myself slipping into managerial mode.
She can't tell us if we'll get a place in June. They will make the decision about who to offer places to on the course in April. I then asked about how many people were waiting and how many places there are. Apparently, there are places for no more than 9 households on the course, there are currently 11 people waiting, some of whom have been waiting since August (I wonder if we count as waiting since now or since last January - didn't ask her that) and they have another 11 households to visit. She doesn't know when the next course would be after June. There is nothing planned at present. They know that it's frustrating, but they see no point in offering courses to people if they have no social worker to follow things up afterwards. Sensible.
The decision now is whether we stick with Staffordshire, or see what other agencies are out there. Stoke is a possible, as is just about any other authority. And there will also be private agencies. I spoke to Andy, who has done some ringing around. Someone from Stoke should be ringing us back later today. They have 34 children awaiting placement apparently. Whether it will be any quicker with them, remains to be seen. We need to get the medical done first and do a bit of shopping around re the agencies.
In the meantime, I'm enjoying the snow, which makes everything look so beautiful. I'm having a girly pampering night later to raise money for our Africa trip. That will be wonderful!
I really ought to pray about all this. Just not sure what to say. Don't think I want to be patient and tell the Lord I trust His timing etc etc... Hmm. That's a good honest start to a prayer. Now I know exactly what to say!
That does all sound frustrating! I would be checking out other possibilities also. I will say a prayer for you that the dear Lord leads you in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking back to one of our first meetings with our social worker. She was definitely a no-nonsense type person. She asked us why we wanted a child and my dear husband (who couldn't believe she had asked such a question after we had written out pages and pages of answers to questions) said "Because we want someone to mow the grass." My mouth dropped open in horror. I quickly said "He's joking...he's joking!" She did not look amused and I was ready to kick my dear husband under the table. Fortunately, Mark then answered the question the way she wanted and things proceeded on. One of our little jokes now.
A blessed weekend to you...
Thanks Barb! Your "mowing the grass" story really made me laugh. I believe one should never joke with social workers or US airport security staff. It's very tempting though!!
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