Posts in the Rebecca Category

Yesterday afternoon, in a small office on the second floor of the Cuyahoga County Courthouse in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, Kat and Carolyn and I finalized our adoption of Rebecca.  There were a few witnesses to this: the social worker who has handled our case from the outset, as she did Carolyn’s; the lawyer who made sure all of our paperwork was correct; our friends Gini and Ferrett; and the magistrate who conducted the proceedings.

As I did with Carolyn, I’ve avoided mention of Rebecca’s being adopted, though anyone who’s been reading the site for the last several years would probably have inferred it from the fact that Carolyn was adopted.  And as with Carolyn, I avoided saying anything because the adoption wasn’t legally final until yesterday.  Up to that point, we were borrowing her from the agency, as it were: they were her legal guardians.  It was possible at any point for the agency to remove her from our home.  In the strictest legal sense, they didn’t even need a reason to do so.  Ditto the state.  Had we missed one of the six monthly post-placement meetings with our social worker, for example, or even not met the required schedule, custody would have been revoked.

Now, of course, that’s no longer possible.  Now she is ours as legally as she has been emotionally, now judicially recognized as the part of our family she’s long since become.  It was her sister who made it official: the magistrate had Carolyn stamp the legal decrees, so that it was she who made the adoption permanent and binding.  Most of the witnesses choked back tears.  I felt a few eye-prickles myself, but suppressed them to make sure I got the pictures I hope both girls will cherish as they grow older.

After a celebratory dinner with friends, as we got ready for bedtime, I took Rebecca into my arms and whispered, “Welcome to our family, little one.  Again.  And forever.”

• Adoption Day was published on Friday, December 19th, 2008.
• It was assigned to the Adoption and Rebecca categories.
• There have been no replies.

Kat and I are now doubly parents.  Earlier this week, we welcomed Rebecca Alison Meyer into our home and our hearts.

We chose Rebecca in honor of Kat’s late grandmother, a grand old lady of enormous chutzpah who taught Kat her near-legendary bargaining skills.  The middle name, Alison, honors Kat’s mother, who we’re grateful has lived long enough to receive the honor.

I’m behind on posting this because not only do we have a newborn to handle, but there’s also Carolyn to consider.  Carolyn is an amazing big sister and more than eager to help us, but she has a schedule to keep and needs help with some things, as all children do.  That makes free time almost totally nonexistent, which means time to write posts is similarly at a premium.

As we gradually settle into a routine, I expect to get back to the things I had cooking, but for now it’s pretty much all in abeyance while I concentrate on our newly enriched family.

• Welcome was published on Wednesday, June 18th, 2008.
• It was assigned to the Rebecca category.
• There have been no replies.