It felt like we arrived the day we got the call that the matching period is over and we are starting the 90 days pre-adoption chapter. Jackie was moving in with us full time. This happened on Thanksgiving day.
During the 90 days, every two weeks we got a home visit and evaluation. And we fell into a rhythm of life together. We spent that entire time together, inseparable. It was a season of firsts: shopping, sleeping separate and together, going to church, traveling 6 hours into the mountains, swimming, trying new foods, going to birthday parties, going to restaurants or playgrounds, going to grandparents alone…
On Friday, the day after my birthday, as I stepped out of the Courthouse, with the submitted request to finalize the Adoption Decision, I breathed deeply and I smiled. It is not over yet. After I said Yes in front of the judge, I went home and waited for a Decision in the mail, which could have been contested in 10 days. I had the responsibility to make the decision final and irrevocable, by making a petition and paying 5 lei. In three business days I will go back and pick up the final court decision regarding the adoption and with that I will go to the City Hall and get her birth certificate reissued with the new name.
It has been an adventure. At times it seemed impossible, demeaning, frustrating, costly. After we started in earnest I never really considered giving up. But after we met Jaclyn it felt like we have arrived. The rest of the chase, the turning back, the pushing forward, the runaround, the waiting, seemed like a small price to pay.
Tonight uncle Liviu was telling Jaclyn how much he appreciates us and how we are his friends. To which Jaclyn responded in a very serious correcting voice: “They are MY parents!”