Sorry I've been out of the blogging loop for a week! This is a crazy time of year--especially for me! Only 9 days (and counting!) left of school! Whoo-hoo! And while on the topic of school I must say that I've really been cherishing my time with my students this last quarter. Normally 4th quarter is the home stretch--and can't seem to go fast enough! However it recently hit me that this is quite possibly the last group of students I will teach without having my own "students" waiting for me at home! I love my job so much and although I look forward to becoming a Mom I don't think I'll ever be able to completely walk away from the classroom and profession I love so much!
Now on to the good stuff: we had our second interview (there are 4 total) today for our home study. It's funny that's it's called a home study--they hardly look at your home! Today I did show our caseworker around our home, but it was just to confirm how many bedrooms we have and whether we have carpet or tile throughout the house. I did get to show off the baby's room though!
The focus of today's meeting was the results of our personality test. When we were filling out our paperwork we filled out the "Taylor-Johnson temperament Analysis Profile". Ben and I each had to take a test evaluating our own personalities as well as each other's. There were four answers choices for each question but they told us we needed to stick to either "always" or "never" responses. Too many "middle of the road" responses would mess up the test--talk about pressure!
It was interesting to review and discuss the results. First off if you don't know Ben and I very well, we are complete polar opposites! I'm an extrovert, he's an introvert (Yes, Ben the talker is an introvert--he actually has to force himself to talk--no wonder he comes home exhausted--ha ha!) I have a more dominant personality (yes I'll admit it, I'm a control freak!), Ben is more laid back. I'm more expressive (okay so some people think I'm just plain hyper) while Ben tends to be more reserved. While Ben is more accepting of people and situations, I tend to be more critical. Being married for almost 7 years Ben and I have discovered most of these differences about ourselves already but it was still helpful to talk about it with our caseworker.
The test we took grouped our answers into several categories. Each category (or trait) has two ends of the spectrum. For example one of the traits was nervous, it's opposite being composed. For each trait there is what is referred to as a normal range. Any of our answers that ended up being outside of the "normal" range were things we discussed with our caseworker. For example I scored above and beyond the normal range in the dominant category. My desire to have control over situations can make me a little obsessive and forceful at times. We discussed how I handle things that are outside of my control (and just so you know--nothing about adoption can really be controlled!!!) and what I do to cope when things don't go as planned. Ben scored outside of the normal ranges in the depressive category. If you know my husband he is not a pessimistic or dejected person--but he can tend to be hard on himself at times and needs help looking at the good, not just the bad. Although Ben and I (along with the rest of the world!) have our issues, it's so cool to see how God uses our differences to bring us closer together. Where I am weak, Ben is strong and vice versa. God sure knows what's he's doing in marriage!
A lot of our family and friends have commented on the amount of hoops and jumps we have to go through in order to become certified to adopt. It is quite a process proving that we are ready to be parents--and good ones at that! However I love the fact that our agency takes their job seriously--the life of a child is at stake! Although at times the amount of things we have to do remind me how much easier it would be to have our own child, the reality is that's not going to happen anytime soon. And I have a feeling God knows what he's up too. If becoming a parent was easy for me I would take it for granted. By adopting I'm learning to appreciate each and every phase of parenthood and will think twice before complaining! (Feel free to hit me over the head if I do!)
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