I checked my email this afternoon and had a lovely email from Judy at Gladney letting us know we are officially approved by Gladney. WHOO HOO!! I could not contain my excitement at work and had to let out a little squeal. My co-workers were very understanding. We are still waiting on that approval letter from CIS but it sure felt good to get our agency's stamp of approval. In an effort to save time we had been working on our dossier at the same time as the home study and all of our dossier documents are in the hands of Kate at KBS Dossier (she is amazing and I highly recommend using her). She is currently walking them through the authentication process.
I don't know about you other adoptive moms out there but I just let out such a huge sigh of relief when we got that approval. D and I are confident in our ability to tackle parenthood and know that this path of adoption is one we are meant to take. We also know that our friends and family think we are ready for parenthood as well. I had mentioned to people previously how relieved I will be when we get agency approval and they would say things like, "Of course you will be approved. Don't be silly." But for me there was something about this process that made me wonder if people who didn't know us as well would agree. I vividly remember having a minor freak out one night as D and I were filling out documents because I was convinced we weren't involved enough in our community. Okay, go ahead and laugh but I was dead serious. D thought I had temporarily lost it but I was just really questioning if we would be deemed suitable. I totally understand why we have to do things like get background checks, talk with a social worker, go to infant CPR, etc. but through the whole process it feels like you are proving yourself over and over and that just breeds doubt. I don't want my temporary freak outs to discourage anyone who is considering adopting as I know in the end all the ups and downs of the adoption process will be totally worth it! I actually think all this doubt is probably good practice for parenthood in general because the parents I know are always questioning if they made the right decision when it comes to sleep schedules, discipline, dating rules and the list goes on and on.
In my effort to live more in the moment, tonight I am just going to be grateful for Gladney approval and that we are one step closer to our ultimate goal! And tomorrow I will resume stalking the mailbox for that CIS letter. I can't change overnight.
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