We never dreamed that the biological father might protest the adoption! We could not understand why. He had not even been a part of her life for 19 months, so why? We were so nervous on our court day! Our entire family had come to stand in support of our adoption. If you have never been to court for an adoption, you should go. The room is packed with people that are either adopting or having their parental rights removed. It is a very emotionally charged room. There are dozens of people anxiously awaiting the ruling of the judge. Some people are happy to be there. Some people are sad to be there. Some are even angry to be there. But they all are very nervous and we were no exception! I looked around the room, trying to figure out who the biological father was. I was clueless! Not one of the people looked anything like our precious angel or maybe they all did!
Our attorney stood up when our name was called. He presented our case to the judge. The attorney for our baby was asked to weigh in on the matter. He told the judge that we had loved and nurtured this baby for the previous six months and that while this did seem like an ideal situation that the biological father was there and wanted to speak. My heart stopped for what seemed like an eternity. A tall man, about our age walked to the front of the courtroom and asked the judge if he would appoint him an attorney, that he could not afford one. The judge asked how did he intend to care for this child if he could not even afford an attorney. He said that he did not intend to care for her and that he thought that maybe he would see if his sister might care for her. The judge said that he would hear the case and make his decision after a short recess!
Oh, do you know how bad I had to fight the urge to just grab our child and run? It took all of the inner strength that I had to stay. I am so glad that I did because the biological father came up to us and introduced himself. He said that he did not even recognize his own child and he wanted to know how we knew the biological mother. I told him that we had never met her face to face. I told him that I had talked to her on the phone and that our attorney had met her in person. He said that we seemed like real nice folks and that he would be happy to sign the papers! Court resumed on a much happier note. The judge was awesome and explained how in his court, once an adoption was granted that it was forever and nothing could undo it! ADOPTION GRANTED!
Really, the story does not end there. It is really just the beginning. The beginning of a life full of love and understanding. It is the beginning of learning and nurturing a beautiful child that was diagnosed as being a "coke" baby and the learning disabilities that come with that diagnosis. It is just the beginning of the most rewarding experience a parent can ever have and the bond that comes from that love. I hope that you will join me as I share some of these experiences. Remember that all things are possible!
Our attorney stood up when our name was called. He presented our case to the judge. The attorney for our baby was asked to weigh in on the matter. He told the judge that we had loved and nurtured this baby for the previous six months and that while this did seem like an ideal situation that the biological father was there and wanted to speak. My heart stopped for what seemed like an eternity. A tall man, about our age walked to the front of the courtroom and asked the judge if he would appoint him an attorney, that he could not afford one. The judge asked how did he intend to care for this child if he could not even afford an attorney. He said that he did not intend to care for her and that he thought that maybe he would see if his sister might care for her. The judge said that he would hear the case and make his decision after a short recess!
Oh, do you know how bad I had to fight the urge to just grab our child and run? It took all of the inner strength that I had to stay. I am so glad that I did because the biological father came up to us and introduced himself. He said that he did not even recognize his own child and he wanted to know how we knew the biological mother. I told him that we had never met her face to face. I told him that I had talked to her on the phone and that our attorney had met her in person. He said that we seemed like real nice folks and that he would be happy to sign the papers! Court resumed on a much happier note. The judge was awesome and explained how in his court, once an adoption was granted that it was forever and nothing could undo it! ADOPTION GRANTED!
Really, the story does not end there. It is really just the beginning. The beginning of a life full of love and understanding. It is the beginning of learning and nurturing a beautiful child that was diagnosed as being a "coke" baby and the learning disabilities that come with that diagnosis. It is just the beginning of the most rewarding experience a parent can ever have and the bond that comes from that love. I hope that you will join me as I share some of these experiences. Remember that all things are possible!
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