The end of Prep Group

So, day 2, 3 and 4 of Prep Group have been and gone and now we are just waiting to find out which social working we have been allocated and the 'interrogation' will begin ernest.

Day one of Prep Group was a little 'stale' for want of a better word but the following 3 days were emotional and thought provoking and at one point almost everyone in the room was close to, if not, in tears.
We discussed topics such as attachment, grief and loss, child development and contact with birth parents.  It's amazing, all these things that you don't even have to consider when you're having a child by natural means.  Contact (where by the birth parents stay in touch with the child and/or adoptive parents either face to face or by letter/card a couple of times a year) was an issue for quite a few of us but it's fair to say that by the end of the four days we were all in no doubt that if contact works, it really is in the best interest of the child.
We had talks from a lady who was adopted as a child, a woman who is an adoptive parent and a birth mother who gave her child up for adoption.  The birth mother gave such an emotional talk and it was clear that although she gave her child up 20 years there isn't a day she doesn't think about him.  It added a level of sympathy I never thought I'd feel for someone who had given their child up.  It made me realise that I want our child to have all the information he/she needs to feel whole.
No matter what, our child will know that they are loved beyond measure.

Roll on Friday, we'll find out who our social worker is and hopefully we'll gel as there is lots o work to do.  Fingers crossed.

On another note I've restarted my reading with kids.  I now have a lovely little fella called Jacob.  He's only six but he reads really well.  His attention span is very short though and when I'm reading with him I can't help wondering how I would be if this was my child.  Knowing that our child may have not be as good a reader as Jacob has made me think about how I would parent and react to his distracting techniques.  It's all very interesting as so many things now seem to be about how I will react in the future.

But only time will tell.  Let's just hope it's not too much time!