Rebirth

Something wonderful has happened. Something we’ve been waiting for…

Brent adopted my Monkey.  Legally.

She’s considered him her Dad for years, but we always had these little things (school records, passport applications, that pesky last name) that would pop up to remind us that he wasn’t.  Not quite anyway.

While this is something we’ve wanted for a long time, we didn’t start the process until last year.  Timing is everything, especially with a legal maneuver of this magnitude. And the timing was finally right.

The paperwork itself took about nine months to complete and then we waited nearly three months for a court hearing.

As with any gestation of a baby (my 11-year-old baby), there was a lot of emotionality that came with this period of time as well.

Leading up to our hearing date, I was a basket case—sobbing at the drop of a hat, having anxious dreams, even nesting to some degree.

And Monkey became extra fidgety as well. I could tell she was nervous, waiting.

But when the day finally arrived, we were ready.

The whole family gathered in the courtroom; there was a lot of anticipation.

And just like the moment of her actual birth, when the judge announced, “Congratulations!  You’re a family,” there was an audible gasp of joy; mom, dad and baby simultaneously cried, and then we held our daughter.

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