My Gay Adoption StoryPreparationGeesh. What I'm giving up for you! I'm exposing myself for your benefit, telling my private memories, slicing open my innards just so you know what to expect. This is some seriously private info, so if you're feeling guilty about reading this, just contact me so I can tell you where to send your donation check :o) After I first contacted social services by phone, I went in the same evening for orientation - that was a Wednesday. After it was all over, I found out that as soon as my call came in, they had been thinking about a specific child for me. After orientation, I needed to adjust my work schedule so I could attend the formal two day training which was to be held on Friday and Saturday of the same week.During my research, I had found out that some agencies don't like some of the sappy answers they get from some potential foster parents about why they want to be foster parents - the ones like "I just love the idea of helping children in need." As a result, I was comfortable in admitting my selfish desires to the class, that I just desperately wanted to be a dad. My hopes had been deflated for months prior to my call to social services as I researched and discovered the costs involved in international and private agency adoptions. Earning a teacher salary, I thought I'd never be able to be a dad. At the orientation and the training, I still did not know for sure if they allowed gay people to adopt so I continued to keep that private to see if I could find any clues. There weren't any other gay people in my classes that I was aware of so I never really knew for sure, and I didn't want to specifically ask the question until I had managed to gain as much understanding of the subject for myself. Getting ApprovedAfter the training, I began work on turning my den into another bedroom. I had to put up a door and fill two large cut outs in the walls. Instead of having to match drywall textures, I chose to use chalkboard paint and frame around the cut outs. The result was really cool, actually. I finished the room by getting a bed and dresser.I then worked on my lengthy autobiography (I chose to do this instead of answering the dozens of questions in the application packet). It actually came together much more quickly since it was about me and I got to reminisce about my childhood and my family. In my autobiography, I decided to be completely open and honest about who I was and what I did, from my past to my present. I am working on completing an ebook which will have my complete gay adoption story as well as my autobiography that I submitted to the agency. Check back soon or subscribe to my RSS blog to find out when this page is updated.
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