Today Attila the Hub and I took a class on "Baby Basics" at the adoption agency. My attitude swings back and forth, but is trending more positive these days. When the attitude slips, I start to resent the fact that it's such hard work and such a long wait to adopt a baby. When it's good, I'm glad that we have an opportunity to learn so much about how to raise a kid before we are actually faced with one.

I tell a friend of my husband's that we'll be asking the customer-service people at the California Highway Patrol to check the positioning of our car seat, to make sure the tolerances are correct. He tells me, "what they're telling you is not the real world of parenting."

I want to answer, "it's the real world of adoptive parenting, where the standards are consistently higher than they are for any biological parent."

But I hold my tongue and remind myself that if there's ever an accident when my baby is in the car, I'll be happy the seat was installed correctly.

I first decided that I did indeed want to become a mother 14 years ago. We started trying six years ago. Even if we're approved, we'll probably have to wait another two years before we're matched with a biological mother and can anticipate actually getting a child.

It's been a long road, and with a little luck we'll be approved in November. Our social worker is coming by for a home visit on the 10th.

You'd think that three weeks would be enough time to clean, straighten, and baby-proof (to social-worker standards) a 2800-square-foot house.

But I'm shaking in my T'ai Chi shoes. So wish me luck. (And tell me what your best cleaning/organizing tips and favorite safety gadgets are.)

Posted by: Attila at 04:36 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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