Adoption Education class

We need 10 hours of adoption education and there happened to be a class offered in Portsmouth on the 10th. So I jumped at the chance to go and fulfill the majority of the time needed. Dave and I went in with open minds and ready to learn! We were running a little late, and me doing 80 along 101 (knock on wood I didn't get pulled over), finally got to the library and found our way to the room. The SW Kate, was so nice and there were 4 other families there in different stages of adoption. There was talk about expectations of the child and when they got home, attachement issues that may arise from institutionalized children, and lots of other factors to consider. We met a couple that adopted from Khazaktan and were looking to adopt again. They brought a book, kind of a scrapbook, of their child's journey home which was facinating. We also met a mom who adopted from India, she brought her daughter in so that we may ask questions about her experience (she also used MAPS) and her daughter was adorable and very shy.

It was a long day and with our certificate in hand, we are feeling a little bit more prepared than when we first stepped into this process. I only wish Kate was our SW, she was great and also adopted from MAPS a few years ago. We can do the other 2 hours on our own and shouldn't be a problem. All in all, it was a very whirlwind day with tons of information to process. We are slowly reading the binder of articles and feel slighly more prepared.

only slightly...