Okay, if I'm actually going to go through with this, there are some concrete life things that need to get accomplished. I'm afraid I will forget about them, so I'll write them down here. Plus, I'm sure my adoring public (current population: 0. Or maybe 1?) is just dying to know this sort of thing.
1. Refinish floors in study, living room and dining room. Lest anyone is reading this and thinking, "Christ, why does this woman think that flooring is important in having a child? Doesn't she know that kids screw up floors? What kind of flake is she?", please note that the floor in the study (hopefully to be a child's bedroom) is in bad enough shape that it can give you splinters. Plus, I don't think I'll ever get this particular project done if I wait until after adoption, and I really want the floors to be less awful.
2. Fix and put down new floor in hallway. I don't want to be all floor fixated, but the hallway floor still has some parts that are structurally unstable. That's just not going to fly during a homestudy.
3. Build a shed? Okay, this one is less "must be done now", but I really want a shed, and right now there is paint thinner in the guest room closet. Again, I just don't think that sort of thing is going to fly with a social worker.
4. Door on my bedroom. I believe it is required for all bedrooms in the house to have doors. Mine should really have one anyways. This might actually be able to be accomplished sooner rather than later. I should go to the ReUse store and see if they have anything that fits.
5. New car. Not new new car, but something with air conditioning that hasn't been hit four times. The trusty blue Tercel has served me well for almost five years. He could probably keep on chugging, but I just don't think that a two door without AC is going to work in Texas if it's more than me. I guess this doesn't have to be the highest priority if I'm just adopting one, but I do think it's time.
6. Bathroom lock. Again, easy. Should probably just hit Ace this week and get it done.
7. Buy a couple of twin beds. I'm provisionally putting a couple of beds in the soon-to-be-ex study (which is almost never used as a study anymore anyways--there is way too much room in this house for just me). I should start paying attention to those obnoxious Mattress Giant commercials.
8. Get dining room chairs. Since the traumatizing chair-falling-apart-underneath-friend incident, it has been painfully obvious that I need structurally stable dining chairs. It's just the pets and I now, and we all just hang out on the couch, but I believe that some sort of dining chair will be required. Dilemma: get the sturdy (but expensive-ish) old chairs from the 1930s that I want, or pick something up at the thrift store?
9. Finish this gd article that I'm working on, and send out at least one more by the end of May. I don't want to sound all careerist, but if I don't get tenure that's not going to be good for a kid or me. Mommy losing her job is not a happy occurrence.
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Tryin' to figure out if I want to adopt a kid. Usin' Lee Varon's book to get me there.
About Me
- mungos_mom
- Texas
- I'm an early thirty something, trying to figure out what I want next. I'm a professor at a large university in Texas. I have an excess number of animals and a garden and house I love dearly.
12 comments:
Surely I am not your only reader.
Since you seem to be asking about the chairs, I have a rule about buying furniture for as long as there are children in the house: don't buy it if your heart will break WHEN they damage it. I bought a new dining room table and chairs a while back. I really liked it and and spent a lot of time chanting to myself, "It will have more character after it's scratched...it will have more character after it's scratched."
Have you started taking the classes? As long as you are in home improvement mode you might want to find out what they are going to want. Do you have enough fire extinguishers, smoke alarms? Is the window in the child's room big enough (probably is)? Can you write a fire escape plan with two different exits in your house as it is?
And yeah...and room someone sleeps in has to have a door.
Good luck.
Do you have a stat counter yet? I'm about to write a "go visit Mungos Mom" post and it might be fun for you to see whether you get anyone. I mean, I ought to end up sending you at least 3 readers.
I post it this afternoon.
Well, here's one of the three readers Yondalla promised you! :-) Welcome to the club. I'm a single mom adopting from foster care, too.
To catch up on your previous posts:
Lee Varon's book was the first one I read. It's a good primer! Adopting the Hurt Child/Parenting the Hurt Child, Can This Child Be Saved (hate the title), and Nobody's Children are also good books to read.
I so know what you mean about the photolistings. It took me a while to get over that. Now I really don't think too much about it until I hear that the child's SW is interested in me as a possible match. (Sounds callous, doesn't it? After you hear nothing back time and time again, you learn not to get attached too early.)
Best of luck with everything! I'll be sure to check back in on you.
I am your second reader sent over from Yondalla.
I look forward to reading more as you move forward!
Well I guess that makes me number three! Welcome to the warped reality of foster/adoption. Happy trails!(or trials)
Oh yeah-I am so with Yondalla about the furniture. We only buy it if I kow I can live without it! Who knew that would be the way to decorate?
Hey, I'm in Texas too. Good luck on this journey.
I'll be reading now, so that ups your reader base again.
I have a son I adopted internationally in 1999. He is 9 now.
So, I am from Yondalla's site also. Also from Texas, and also thinking about the fostercare/maybe adoption thing too. I keep thinking that I don't have it together enough yet-but I think the same about dating. So maybe I should start with a list too. Good luck on your journey.
Suzy
Yondalla has lots of followers! Welcome to the world of blogs.
I'm an adoptee and an adoptive parent and current foster parent. I also volunteer with Adopt America Network (I have a link on my site), and may be able to help you on your adoptive path.
It's an interesting journey and I'm looking forward to sharing your experiences.
Hi there...
Over form Yondalla's.
I'm a single mom too..adopted from foster care/foster mom.
All my furniture has gotten ruined. Definitely go with the thrift store. :)
I love a woman who thinks first about home improvement.
I'm here because of Yondalla's recommendation.
As for the furniture, don't buy anything nice until you know you are permanently placed with civilized kids, otherwise, you'll be mighty unhappy.
We are lucky in that our kid mostly takes good care of her stuff (and our stuff). That's not always the case, so prepare to have your furniture trashed until and unless you are pleasantly surprised.
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