We've Made the Short List!

I learned today that we have been selected for a Red File Staffing! YAY! (If you don't remember what this is, see The First Post) Andrea called today and left a voice mail to say that we had been requested for a little boy named Andy, who is 3 years old. All I know about him is that he has blond curly hair, is big for his age, has no serious health problems, and apparently is "cute as a button." Are buttons cute? I've never really understood that expression. I tried to call her back, but she had already left for the day by the time I called. I hope to be able to reach her tomorrow to get more details, including the date of the RFS.

My first reaction was to start visualizing this little boy and all the wonderful times we would have together. My second reaction, which occurred a few seconds later, was to panic. Yikes! What if we are chosen? Then we'll be parents! We'll have a kid! Where will he sit? We'll have to get a high chair! Do three-year olds need high chairs? He'll need clothing, toys, a toothbrush, etc. Holy cow, I'm really not ready for this. I was a bit shocked by this thought process, especially since yesterday I was just stressing out that I might never be a mom...

It's probably not a good idea to get too excited about this just yet. We are still far away from being chosen to be Andy's parents. But it's good to know that we are in the running. I called Andrea on Monday to ask her if there had been any activity on our file since we got certified a whole month ago. I'm probably one of her most annoying clients. But she is always responsive and helpful, and she called me later in the day to say that she had checked with the Central Adoption Registry and they told her our file had been checked out 3 times, and was currently out with the caseworker for Andy. I was really pleased to know there had been a good amount of activity, but also sad that in the first two cases, we didn't make it to the Red File Staffing. And then, what do you know? We got in! Third time's the charm!