Relief, Joy and Profound Sadness

The legal saga surrounding the status of The Vance finally ended in a court hearing on Friday. I am still not at liberty to discuss details. Suffice it to say that, B'Ezras Hashem, we will be in a position to finalize the Vance's adoption within about six months.

MHW and I left the hearing extremely relieved. It did not become clear until the end of the hearing that the result would be positive. It was nervewracking.

We were also, of course, very happy. The Vance has been with us all but the first ten weeks of her life. She is now almost four. We are the only family she has ever known. She is as much a part of our family as each of the other kids, no more, no less. She is one of "the sisters". So, we were full of joy that she will continue to grow up as part of the mishpacha and that all doubts are finally put aside.

Finally, we were profoundly sad. The hearing was, truly, heartbreaking. Our gain was someone else's tragic loss. And, no matter how strongly I feel that this is the right result and in the best interests of The Vance, you have to be heartless not to feel for The Vance's birth mother. This feeling, more than any other, stayed with us through the weekend.

(The birth mother still has visitation rights that were worked out so she will continue to be a part of The Vance's life. Nevertheless...)

So, our gratitude to The One Above is endless. We are also grateful to all the wonderful people at OHEL who guided us (and will continue to guide us) through this journey. Their mesiras nefesh is inspiring.

(Speaking of which, OHEL is always looking for a few good foster families. If you live in the Metro area and are interested, please let me know.)