You see, this morning, I had to go Sheriff's Office in our home county to get fingerprinted. I posted a short update on facebook earlier today giving a snippet of an exchange I had in the waiting room (who knew SO's had waiting rooms?!). I apparently went to get fingerprinted at the same time another man decided to turn himself in. The officer behind the desk asked him to take a seat in the same area I was sitting, so he sat two chairs down from me. I sat there quietly, minding my own business when he suddenly turned to me and inquired: "so are you here for the same thing?"
First - I didn't know what his "thing" was. But since it involved turning himself in to the sheriff's office, I ventured to assume not.
Second - My thing is not just my "thing". It's mine and my husband's "thing". Now granted, my husband had to be somewhere an hour away for work first thing this morning, and I take any free opportunity I have before/after work to get things done during normal 9-5 business hours - so I was there alone. But our "thing" is definitely ours...
But before I get to that, I have a puzzle for you guys:
What do these photo snippets all have in common?
I'll give you a few moments...
...
...figure it out?...
...
Stumped?
Don't worry - I'll help you out! As of last night all of the electric sockets have plugs in them. We've begun acquiring new pieces of furniture. Our 3rd bedroom, which once had nothing in it, is soon going to rapidly begin transforming. I spoke to a fire marshall for the first time in my life this morning. I have my fingerprints sitting on my kitchen table downstairs, and my husband is having his run on Monday morning. We now have a carbon monoxide detector and fire extinguisher in our house.
So what does this all mean?
It means Andrew and I have together decided to venture into the world of becoming foster parents. Yep. You read that right.
Foster.
Parents.
Put those two words together again: Foster Parents.
Woah.
This is quickly becoming a reality to us. We have been taking classes 6 hours a week for the last 4 weeks (this upcoming week is our last week!), have already completed our first of three intensive interviews with our case worker, and are slated to have our 2nd interview and home inspection next week.
Our immediate families know already about this decision. A few close friends and confidants are aware of this as well. However, we decided to wait til now to let everyone know about our decision for multiple factors.
Quite honestly, when I (Lindsay) started confiding in people about this decision, I was taken aback by a response that I received from someone. I let someone that I worked with as a professional peer know that I had to get to class one night. When she asked what kind of class, I explained that we had decided to become licensed foster parents. Her response was: "why would you want to do that?" Now, trust me - I know fostering/adoption is not for everyone. Not everyone understands or is called to participate in this world. However - when I told her that we were thinking about doing this, I confided in her with the knowledge that she herself was a licensed foster parent with multiple placements in her home. I was dumbfounded, to say the least. This response made me become very guarded with who I told.
Also, we've been pretty "hush hush" about it because of the unknown. We didn't know what to expect from the process or classes. We didn't want to announce that we were going to become foster parents prematurely, only to have our schedules not match up with the class requirements, or us determine right now is not the right time for us to venture into fostering, or any other number of reasons. But as the classes have gone on, and we have taken further steps into solidifying our application for licensure, Andrew and I have been amazed at how much more at peace we are becoming and assured in the fact that we are doing what we feel we have been called to do as a family.
So, I'll say it again - we're becoming foster parents. And we know that with this, a lot of changes are going to come about.
For example, we won't be posting as much online - especially pictures. This is because we are unable to post pictures (or any other identifiable information) online of our future foster kiddos. Also, it just safeguards us as a family from other issues that may arise from being involved in such delicate situations like fostering. Doesn't mean we're gone completely or forever - it just won't be as much or the same as before.
Also, our schedules are definitely going to be changing. We are two busy adults with very distinct careers and schedules about our weeks. Now, add a child (or children) to this equation, and life is gonna be very different. But hopefully, very rewarding and fulfilling.
Finally, the most distinct change of all is going to be our increased need for love, support, prayers, advice, etc. from our families and friends. Yes, we know, we're going to be new to this thing called parenting. But every parent - biological, foster, or adoptive - had to start somewhere. And this is where we have decided to begin. And there is joy and peace in that.
Just because we aren't posting publicly online about every little step in our journey, doesn't mean that we're not open to talking to you about it. I'll be posting periodically about things we've learned and experienced throughout this, but we also welcome your questions and interest. Feel free to call, text, message, or walk right up and talk to us about this. We are so excited about where this step in our lives is going to take us!
Thank you for your love and support!
No comments:
Post a Comment