I wanted to clear something up - it would appear many of those who have commented seem to think that we have a few days left until our house is populated with small nuclear devices on legs. Far from it.
In a few days time we will make our way over to the foster carer’s house - after school turns out - and meet several small children for the first time. We will hang out with them for a couple of hours, play with them, tell them stories about ourselves, and generally just get used to each other a little bit. Then we will go home.
Day on day after that, we will spend more and more time with them - building on our presence around them. The entire process has been thought out by the social workers and the foster carers to almost imprint us on the kids - to ease their way into their new family. We will end the week waking them up in the morning, and returning them at bedtime. Each time we bring them to visit our house we will also be bringing their belongings. Our house will become theirs, and they will be helping that happen.
We will visit the oldest child’s school to help say goodbyes - we will meet teachers and friends, and be proudly shown schoolwork.
Rolling through next weekend, we will have them all day each day. With a little luck a little normality will descend, and make the final journey from the foster carer to our house a natural one early the following week.
I am writing this today because the likelihood of writing much after this weekend will be remote. On Monday the real test begins - we find out just how much the preparation, the hoops and the trials have been worth. We will find out in a sudden and probably jarring manner what it is to be called Mum and Dad. I have no idea how we will react to it.