Friday 4 November 2011

National Adoption Week - what a difference a year makes!

Last week we were in the midst of introductions, thoroughly enjoying it but mentally exhausted and, if I am honest, the fact that National Adoption Week 2011 would begin on the very day that we brought our new little one home almost completely passed me by.

When I did realise (and joked about it a bit with friends), it made me think of the 2010 national adoption week when we were only at the very start of the assessment process and had no clear idea of how long it would take. If you had told me then that I would be grabbing what time I could to write a blog page, leaving other half to deal with a messy lunchtime toddler, then I would have been astounded. Even had we been approved by now, I was expecting to sit for months and months waiting for a match.

I keep going back in my head to last week and the introductions. I was told that the transfer of attachment process (such a serious phrase!) was an almost magical process and it kind of was. Within two short (two hour) meetings, we had little arms reaching up to be picked up and a kind of resigned 'ok then' face when we changed nappies.  Within three days we were going out on solo trips, and four days had us home alone all day. Before the end of the week we all knew we were ready to be home and, frankly, we were all fed up with the driving, including the little one.  I can't tell you that we did anything special, because we didn't. We just hung out together and played.

And here we are, almost a week into placement and it is like we have always had this small person here. We haven't been inundated with check up visits by Social Workers, but they are on the end of the phone.  Thankfully our 8 year old loves his little sibling and is adored in return...

Again, I have shortened what could have been several blog posts into one but, you know, I would rather be playing with the little person in the other room...!