Saturday, November 26, 2005

We Decided To Adopt

Melissa and I recently decided to adopt. We’ve been married almost two years now and that “time to move on” feeling had really begun to gnaw on us. It’s a big decision, adoption is, but it’s one we thought about a lot and, frankly, both felt strongly impressed to make.

Be forewarned. Adoption is long and somewhat cumbersome process. There are numerous hoops to be jumped through, the authorization forms are a pain, and the contracts come with a heavy helping of legalese. Worse still is narrowing the decision on who you should try to adopt. A good fit, after all, is extremely important.

We searched for weeks before Melissa fell in love. She found a beautiful 14-week-old boy that she just had to have. Though we decided quickly that he was the one for us, nothing comes that easy. As with most things worth having, adoptions are hard to come by. In fact, they can be among the most difficult things to secure. Our problem was that someone had one-upped us on the wait-list. We did everything possible to strengthen our application, but the final decision was not in our hands.

Last Saturday was the day the contract was to be finalized and the adoptive parents were to meet their little one. The only option we really had was to arrive early and hope the other application would fall through. Melissa took the first shift at the adoption center and was actually able to spend some quality time with the little boy we hoped might be ours. She stuck around for several hours, talking with workers and growing more attached, before she sadly pulled herself away and headed off to work. Hope was flickering as she left though because the other applicants still had yet to show. I took the afternoon shift and persistently lobbied those in charge on our behalf, but the response never seemed to change; there was someone ahead of us on the list.

Then, late that afternoon, it happened. Whether I wore the adoption staff down or they themselves simply wrote the applicants ahead of us off as no-shows, I’m not certain… but the decision was made and he was ours. There was paper work to fill out and future home check-ups to schedule, but I could leave with him that night. When Melissa called from work for an update, I led her to believe that nothing had been finalized and we wouldn’t know anything until Monday. All this so I could surprise her at work with the newest addition to our family. And surprised she was. She's actually been beaming ever since.

So that’s that. We’re now the proud parents of one damn fine 3 ½-month-old Rhodesian Ridgeback-Lab. We renamed him Jäger (he was ‘Junior’ before). It’s German for “Hunter”… not really that descriptive of him, but we like it. We haven’t slept much since getting him (he likes to howl from his crate at night – though I should note that he’s been improving), and our days seem to revolve around food and excrement (I swear, he's worse than a hamster). But we’re loving every minute of it (and cherishing the quiet ones).



19 comments:

woo said...

You'd howl too if you lived in a crate! Geez I hate you tree huggin' hypocrites!

P.S. Congrats!

Marc said...

Crate training is the preferred method of training dogs these days and is endorsed by most animal organizations, including the the humane society.

Marc said...

Oh... and thank you ;)

woo said...

I wonder how it works with kids?

syd said...

well, glad to see my blog had no effect on you... Why is it that most people try to avoid more resposibility at work or school, but will actually pay for more resposibility at home?

Marc said...

Like they always say... it's only homework if you have to do it.

Kris said...

Aren't you impressed that I kept your secret on the DL? Don't you think I deserve to know which girls are on the pillowcase that you sleep on at night?

Marc said...

That, young lady, is between me, melissa, and the pillowcase.

Kris said...

Come on Marc--you too embarassed by the teenage girls on the pillowcase to share their identities?

Marc said...

Not embarrased. But they might be. It was an unsolicited gift that I was prevented from throwing away by my wife.

Alice said...

What a beauty... I am so very wishing I had a boxer lab or a boxer or a lab or just any dog that at all. As to the pillow cases that is one blog I don't think I want to read.

Study hard and best of luck (I am sure you will not need it).

Marc said...

The pillowcase incident is not as bad as the comments might make it appear. Before my mission I was given a pillowcase with a photo of two girls and the line "This pillow will have to do until your mission is through." I never used it and my mom threw it in some box while I was on my mission. After I got married, my wife got into that box and had a good laugh over it. When my real pillowcase ripped earlier this year, it was the only one in the house so my wife put it on as a joke. We still haven't bought a new pillowcase, so it's still on there.

Alice said...

Is this a Christmas present hint?? I feel like it is. =). Kidding of course.

Alifinale said...

Ahhh... the late nights and cleaning of pee and poop. We miss those days of having a new little pup. He's a cutie! Congrats!

Marc said...

We'll see about that.

Sammy Pow said...

Although I didn't make the comment about Rusty, I do believe it to be true, at least until your dog is like six months old.

Marc said...

...and I wouldn't argue otherwise.

syd said...

I heard dogs eat babies...

Marc said...

Which is why it's probably good we don't have any.