Twas the Night Before Christmas

“'Twas the night before the home visit, when all through the house,
the mom-to-be was manically cleaning, along with her spouse;
The baseboards, the floors, the rug cleaned with care,
In hopes that no dirt would be spotted there;
Soon they were nestled all snug in their beds,
While thoughts of possible questions danced in their heads;
About their potential for parenthood, what would the Social Worker ask?
What did they have to say, to prove they were up to the task?”

Seriously, though, husband and I have actually been proud of ourselves for not letting the home visit cause us too much stress. Some adoptive couples get really worked up about it. But we keep reminding ourselves (well I keep reminding myself – those who know my husband know he very rarely stresses about anything) that our Social Worker is not going to deny us approval to adopt based on the cleanliness of our house. Nor is she going to do a white glove test (although at this point I dare her too – there’s not a speck of dirt in this house!) Nor can I think of any reason why she would think we would not make excellent adoptive parents. But still, I have found myself spending hours cleaning the house. After all, she is coming to evaluate our house and if I don’t clean the house thoroughly for the home inspection, when would I?

But I guess I have to admit I am a bit nervous. I don’t actually feel that way but I did wake up at 4:30 am and was so wired I watched an hour and a half of infomercials – something I only do when I am stressed out (wake up unexpectedly in the middle of the night that is, not watch infomercials). As far as I understand it, the visit will consist of three components: evaluation of the house to make sure it’s a safe and suitable place to raise a child, a short meeting with one of our references, and a looong interview of husband and I for her to get a thorough understanding of who we are, what kind of parents we will be, and how much we have considered some of the particular issues adoption will raise. We spent so much time considering whether adoption was right for us (and read plenty to boot) that I can’t imagine there will be a question we aren’t prepared for, but I guess we wont know that until tomorrow.

“And so I will remind myself before I turn out the light,
Everything will be fine so have a sleepless night."

**props to Major Henry Livingston Jr. for the original Twas the Night Before Christmas(which according to the internet was previously believed to be by Clement Clarke Moore – poor Mr. Livingston being robbed of the posthumous glory for so long)