R..e...s...p...e...c...t

I made my way over to the adoption court office last week to hand in our formal request to legally adopt LBM. Strangely enough, up until the final court hearing in two months time, we currently 'share' parental responsibility between ourselves, the birth parents (!) and social services. Handing over the court admin fee of £170 (Gulp!) I turn to LBM and say, "Soooo....not just for Christmas, are you?"  He squeals with delight which brings a smile to everyone in the court office. But hey, a friend paid £350 for her Beagle puppy so I reckon we got ourselves a cracking bargain here. 

I will say, it certainly feels like we share parental responsibility with social services and I am looking forward to closing the door to them for that final time. But as much as I whinge about the endless meetings with these paper pushing folk (seriously, we have three lever arch files full of paperwork and a huge pile waiting to be filed), some points they make are annoyingly relevant. When they were doing our house safety survey, they asked if we had any loose rugs. I remember rolling my eyes to the moon. But now, when LBM toddles into the lounge and trips over the corner of that rug that curls up ever so slightly, I can't help thinking they were right.

When they kept going on and on about how I would miss my family, once again I rolled my eyes to the moon. But it's at festive times like this Easter when every friend I have is celebrating up a treat with sumptuous family roasts and  Easter egg hunts. It really hits home and once again, they were spot on.

It may also have something to do with the current series on TV on adoption. It's virtually a blow by blow account of what we went through and brings back all manner of emotions. But it also gives me an insight into what emotions the social workers have to deal with on a daily basis. We only deal with them for around 2 years throughout our process. For them, it's an everyday affair. I have a new found admiration for them. Respect.