Silver Lining

Autobiographies 



After meeting with our wonderful Social Worker a few weeks ago, we were given our next "assignment": writing our autobiographies for our Home Study Assessment. The autobiography consists of eight solid pages of questions that guide us to reflect on our past, think about our future, and prepare ourselves to be parents. It's been an enlightening process so far: we are getting to better know ourselves and what has made us who we are, each other and how our lives fit and work together, and who we hope and want to be as parents after we are matched with a child.

We will also be writing about our support system. Here are a few of the questions:

  • Describe your current and future support systems and other available supports in the community (family, friends, church, counselor, club, support groups, therapists)
  • List 3 support people and what each of those is willing to do to help. Please be specific.
  • Who might be a barrier to your adoption? Non-supportive?
  • How open are you to accepting or reaching out for help?
  • What resources/type of support will you want and need support your family when the new child(ren) arrives?
  • How will you prepare your extended family, friends and other support people for the addition an adoptive child to your family?
  • Who will you turn to in an emergency?

These questions are important for us to think about before a child arrives in our lives. The process can be challenging and intense at times, but knowing that we have these systems in place will help us be able to reach out for help when we need it. Since we started the adoption process, we have been so humbled by the support of so many people in our lives! Describing our current and future support systems could go on and on: our families, friends, pastors, minister, friends and fellow congregational members at our church, coworkers, grad school friends and colleagues, etc. (this list could go on beyond). We could name so many of these wonderful people and know in our hearts that they are here to support us in so many different and important ways! As daunting as answering all of the questions may seem, we know that there is a purpose and being able to remind ourselves of that purpose has helped us through.




Trainings 

In addition to the many pages of paperwork, background checks and fingerprinting, physician reports, and copies of all certified documents, we will be completing several trainings this summer. We have three day-long trainings to attend as well as an online training before we can complete our Home Study Assessment. Our agency, Evolve, is located in Stillwater so we have plans to eat dinner on the rooftop of our favorite local restaurant after our training! Since Travis and I are both still finishing up our graduate degrees and working full-time in demanding careers, the necessary time constraints of this process can easily overwhelm us. Finding those silver linings in all the To Do's has been our saving grace. 
  

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