I finally did it! I have officially crossed the starting line of this journey I've been rambling on and on about for months now.
Last Tuesday I had my in-home orientation. Leading up to this in-home meeting I was a bit stressed. But, it seemed to be a controlled stress. There was just too much to try to accomplish before that day to be overcome by the stress. Not knowing what exactly would happen during the meeting, or what they would be looking at, it was a bit difficult. But, in the end I decided not to stress the little stuff and just let God take care of everything.
Tuesday came and I worked half a day before heading home to walk Freckles and do one last run through the house. My licensing worker arrived and Freckles did NOT bark at her, something I had been praying about all morning! Go Freckles! However, he did huff & puff while watching us during our meeting. That was my bad, I realized later. I had put myself in a corner with the licensing worker on the outside. Freckles couldn't get to me and maybe thought she was a threat. As soon as I removed myself from the corner, he was fine and did good otherwise.
So, the meeting: we reviewed every form in my application packet. She just made sure everything was signed and filled out properly. She explained different things to make sure I understood what I was signing and answered any questions I had about the forms. As I mentioned in a previous post, I had a lot of questions about the Behaviors form. She was very helpful and explained every one that I had any question on. It made a big difference and allowed me to more confidently check the appropriate boxes. After fully reviewing the application packet and explaining some things to me, I was able to ask her questions (that weren't directly related to the application.) I had some I needed answers to and also got tips on questions to ask from other single foster parents I have connected with on Facebook. I ended up with about 14 on the official list. She was great about answering them all though. Between the application, discussion, and my questions, we sat and talked for almost an hour. I was thankful to have someone who seemed kind and wasn't annoyed by my endless questions.
She seemed impressed that I had not only typed up my questions and had them ready, but that I had made an excel spreadsheet to track my application packet. But let me tell you, if I hadn't made that spreadsheet, there is no way in the world that I could have kept track of all that stuff it in my head! I did it out of necessity, not just for fun or to impress anyone. But, towards the end of the meeting she did say that it seemed I was organized and had everything in order and that certain things/situations would go well for me because of that.
The final part of the meeting was a walk-through tour of the house. She just checked out each room and looked out the windows at the backyard. (That's good because my back patio, up against the house, is a disaster of leaves and other yard stuff that I never cleaned up!) We checked every smoke & Co2 detector - which Freckles "loved" - and then that was about it. She reminded me of the next steps and then was on her way.
Last Tuesday I had my in-home orientation. Leading up to this in-home meeting I was a bit stressed. But, it seemed to be a controlled stress. There was just too much to try to accomplish before that day to be overcome by the stress. Not knowing what exactly would happen during the meeting, or what they would be looking at, it was a bit difficult. But, in the end I decided not to stress the little stuff and just let God take care of everything.
Tuesday came and I worked half a day before heading home to walk Freckles and do one last run through the house. My licensing worker arrived and Freckles did NOT bark at her, something I had been praying about all morning! Go Freckles! However, he did huff & puff while watching us during our meeting. That was my bad, I realized later. I had put myself in a corner with the licensing worker on the outside. Freckles couldn't get to me and maybe thought she was a threat. As soon as I removed myself from the corner, he was fine and did good otherwise.
So, the meeting: we reviewed every form in my application packet. She just made sure everything was signed and filled out properly. She explained different things to make sure I understood what I was signing and answered any questions I had about the forms. As I mentioned in a previous post, I had a lot of questions about the Behaviors form. She was very helpful and explained every one that I had any question on. It made a big difference and allowed me to more confidently check the appropriate boxes. After fully reviewing the application packet and explaining some things to me, I was able to ask her questions (that weren't directly related to the application.) I had some I needed answers to and also got tips on questions to ask from other single foster parents I have connected with on Facebook. I ended up with about 14 on the official list. She was great about answering them all though. Between the application, discussion, and my questions, we sat and talked for almost an hour. I was thankful to have someone who seemed kind and wasn't annoyed by my endless questions.
She seemed impressed that I had not only typed up my questions and had them ready, but that I had made an excel spreadsheet to track my application packet. But let me tell you, if I hadn't made that spreadsheet, there is no way in the world that I could have kept track of all that stuff it in my head! I did it out of necessity, not just for fun or to impress anyone. But, towards the end of the meeting she did say that it seemed I was organized and had everything in order and that certain things/situations would go well for me because of that.
The final part of the meeting was a walk-through tour of the house. She just checked out each room and looked out the windows at the backyard. (That's good because my back patio, up against the house, is a disaster of leaves and other yard stuff that I never cleaned up!) We checked every smoke & Co2 detector - which Freckles "loved" - and then that was about it. She reminded me of the next steps and then was on her way.
So what are the next steps? Here is where I'm at...
- Fingerprints & Background Check: This week she is supposed to give me the information on where to get fingerprinted. Once I do that my background check will begin to process. Apparently they are experiencing long wait times for their checks, but there are a few more steps to get through before that really starts to matter.
- Training: Due to the holidays, all training is completed for this year. So, I will start training in January. I will have my choice of two different programs. One is a 9 wk course which includes one night a week for 9 consecutive weeks. The other is a 5 1/2 week course done on Saturdays. Both include the same information and same amount of training hours (27), so it is just a personal preference. For me, Saturdays are really going to work best, so that is the plan I'm going to request.
- Home Study: Once the background check is completed & approved, they can do the Home Study. They sometimes do it before training is done, but its different with each person. For those who don't know, the Home Study will involve more in-depth discussion on me, personally. Things such as how I was parented, how I plan/hope to parent, etc. I'm not sure of everything it involves, but I do know it is a pretty big deal.
Once those three steps have been completed, then they can find a placement for me. So, looking at the training schedule, it seems that I could have a placement as early as February or March. There is lots to do before then, but I'm sure that time is going to fly by so fast!
Thanks for all of your prayers and support that have helped me to make it this far! Be sure to keep an eye out for more posts and updates soon!
(Sorry for the delayed update - I was out of town on vacation for Thanksgiving!)
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