Get Ready for the Homestudy

If somebody was coming to your house to decide whether or not you would be a fit parent, what stuff would you need to hide? A social worker decides based on meeting you and the appearance of your home if you should get to proceed in the adoption process. After meeting with you 2-4 times she writes up a report with her recommendations. So, what would you do first?

I've been in my house for 11 years and I'm at the point of wanting or needing to replace a lot of things. Getting ready for the first homestudy, was nerve wracking. You want to make a good impression but where do you start. I got busy finishing a few home projects that were left undone a couple of years ago. I put in new doors, replaced some fixtures and some other small cosmetic things. I was worn out and frustrated that a few things didn't get done.

I cleaned the house from top to bottom, called the cleaning lady so she could clean some more, and then the day before the homestudy visit I cleaned up after the cleaning lady. You get the picture. Anyway after a couple of weeks of work, a lot of sweat, a lot of cleaning, purging, moving furniture, and agonizing I was ready. The only thing left to do was to bake my famous "apple treats". I wanted her to know that I could cook.

The social worker came right on time and was dressed casually. The first thing she said was, "People get so worked up about the homestudy and I don't know why." Yea, me either! We talked for about three hours. I answered all of the personal questions about family, upbringing, fears, thoughts about parenting, all the whys and why-nots that come with the process. Just before she was about to leave and after packing up the apple treats to go, we spent a few minutes walking around the house. After all of that work it was kind of a let down. It took less time to do the tour than it did to drive to Home Depot and pick up the supplies. The good news is my second and final homestudy is Saturday and I don't have any more projects to do.

The moral of the story: Don't sweat the homestudy.