And so it begins.
Many of you know I have fertility issues. For those who weren't aware, never fear. It is not a particularly touchy issue for me(unless coming from the in-laws). It is what it is and I consider it to be one of my big trials in life. I am not completely barren. After 6 1/2 years of grief I was blessed with The Maniac. He is truly the biggest blessing in my life, aside from Delmar of course. The Maniac is almost 2 now and I have been trying for much of that time to produce a sibling. We do not want an only child, we were planning on at least 5 when we married. No luck.
As I am getting along in child bearing years we determined it was time. We started our preliminary adoption paperwork in November. Yesterday we met with our assigned case worker in what is called an "Intake Interview". 1 1/2 hours later we exited the building. We took with us a giant stack of paperwork, a 300 page book, and minus $1,015. There are additional forms we need to complete online. We must give them certified copies of birth certificates, marriage license, fingerprints, FBI background checks. We will need to attend a weekend adoption class, which is only offered once every 3 months and not again until April. There is more. I am getting tired listing it all, not to mention the list is most likely very boring for you.
The kicker is if I get pregnant(could happen I have been once) before being selected by a birth mother our file will be put on "hold". Once I give birth the file can not be reactivated until our baby is 1. At which time we will have exceeded the inactive time limit and will need to start the process again.
I know there is a reason for all of this. It is just a little overwhelming right now. As the process continues I will update. I will also do my best to find humor in all of this. Could be interesting.
I am married to a pathological Ski Bum. What is that? You say there is no such thing. Come to my house and you will see it is true. Delmar has spent his entire life skiing and/or finding a way to pay for skiing. He learned to ski at such a young age he doesn't remember learning to ski. His skiing has been considerably hampered by his recent attendance of law school and opening his own law firm. Has this squelched the desire to ski? Absolutely not. Despite the depth this inner need to ski burns within, Delmar is pretty good about spending time with the Maniac and myself.
I recently discovered that I would be required to attend two baby showers over the next three weeks. I told Delmar "Why don't you plan to go skiing on the days I have baby showers, and spend the other Saturday with us?" He thought this was a great plan. Then it hit. Snow. The mountains are starting to gather the white stuff. You can see the drool dripping from his chin as he watches the local weather report. It looks as if this will be a great weekend to ski. The only problem is this isn't a Saturday I have a baby shower to attend. I feel bad that I don't want him to go. He skis dramatically less than when we were first married. Yet, I want to spend time with him. (No I can't go with him--our skills are well, let's say drastically different. I must wait until he relieves some pent up adrenalin.) What is a girl to do?
Recently I had one of those days. When Delmar returned from work I handed over the Maniac and told him I needed a couple hours. Delmar so lovingly took over. Delmar gave the Maniac a bath as I was pleasantly reading blogs etc. on my computer. While thinking to myself that I had a wonderful husband I hear a terrifying thump in the tub, followed with a scream of panic for me. I jumped up nearly dropping the laptop in my haste. As I opened the bathroom door there sits my baby with blood covering the side of his forehead and the bathwater quickly turning pink. His face had this bewildered look as I screamed "What did you do!" at Delmar. In that instant I was sure he had a concussion which would explain why he wasn't crying. Suddenly, Delmar began to laugh and everything made sense. The Maniac was playing with his Crayola bathtub crayons. Which just so happen to turn the water colors. The aforementioned crayons also have the ability to leave marks on the skin which in turn wash away. Delmar had made the thump after the Maniac had marked up the side of his head looking like blood. All I could say as I turned for the door was "Not Funny". So much for a relaxing evening, it took all night to calm down.
Note: Delmar apologized profusely.
