paperwork (and a bit of a rant...)

we're starting to fill out paperwork and more paperwork...  i feel like we're being examined under a microscope.  they want to know everything about us so they can deem us worthy (or unworthy) as parents.  i understand the need to check people out - we've all heard the horror stories of children being kept in cages or left in closets to die...  there was even a story in the news today about a horrible situation with an adoptive father.  these are terrible, heartbreaking stories, but in my opinion those situations are the exceptions, not the norm.  where are the good stories of loving foster/adoptive parents?  those kinds of stories don't often make the news, and i feel like there are probably many of these good stories to far outweigh the bad.  the "bad" foster/adoptive parents clearly passed some kind of background checking in order to achieve custody of those children, and they still did horrible things to them. birth parents behave badly toward their kids sometimes too, and they only seem to be scrutinized after the abuse is noticed.


and when bad things happen, often legislatures do an "overreach" -- they react (overreact?) and make more and more stringent regulations, making it more difficult and expensive and complicated for ordinary, well intentioned of people to become foster or adoptive parents.

it's frustrating to feel scrutinized and dissected because of other people's bad choices and abuses.   but i guess we go through it, and hopefully joyfully, keeping our focus on the child(ren) that we hope to bring home as a result of all this.