We've had four home visits including the first most harrowing one where our home was inspected. Here's how my mindset changed as the visits went on.
1st Home Visit-This visit was pre-adoption. It was the most terrifying because it included a tour of our home where any and everything was on display, including closets and cabinets. I cleaned this place with a toothbrush. You could have eaten off any surface of my home. White gloves could have been worn. I served a lovely coffee cake with variety of drink offerings and perched nervously on the edge of a chair while sweating through my blouse and answering every question that can be asked of another person. Every person I had ever met and some people I had only met at yard sales were praying for it to go well. The visit lasted three hours.
2nd Home Visit-This was the first visit after Cordie was brought home. I've spent the past day enlisting any nearby person to hold the baby so I could clean. Cordie was one month old and I was in a seemingly permanent bleary-eyed-with-sleep stage. I wanted the house to look just like it had in our pre-child visit though. I was going to PROVE that childrearing wasn't affecting my housekeeping! I think I served something to eat...yep, sausage balls I think. Only one drink was offered. I sweated through the first real clothes I had put on in days while trying to make it sound like our baby with acid reflux, colic, sucking problems, and a hatred of sleep wasn't completely draining us all of every drop of energy we had ever had. My entire Sunday School class and family are praying. The visit lasted two hours.
3rd Home Visit-Cordie was four months old and sooooo much happier than she had been. I cleaned with her on my hip for the day leading up to the visit. I didn't even clean the stove eyes. I think I shut the door to the bedroom. Eh, Cordie was thriving, the house was relatively clean, and I made a peach cobbler. Where is my cape? I am clearly superwoman. I don't sweat through anything while I bragged about how freakin' adorable my kid is. My family is praying in a casual way if they remember. The visit lasted an hour.
4th Home Visit-I forget the day the home visit is scheduled for and then promptly freak out because it was mixed up. Not to fear, I still had enough time to clean. I decide the social worker won't be showering and I don't have time to clean it, so I pull the curtain close and make a mental note to get to that later in the week. I don't hide the diapers and wipes. There's a kid who lives here. She poops. I think we all know that. I don't fix anything to eat. We all watch the baby play for twenty-five mintues while I curl up on the couch like a contented cat, no sweating or edge sitting involved.
I'm glad the visits are over. Even with the last one I was still a little anxious about the house being nice enough, but they did get MUCH more relaxed as time went on. We have our court date later this month and then we will be D-O-N-E with this whole process!! I've already started asking Josh when we can do it again.
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