Signing the dotted line…

On September 29th, Katie and I made our second trip to Dr. Heller’s office. This time we would be signing a contract with her, and paying her to begin the home study process. Traffic is always backed up on Olive during rush hour, but for some reason today it was an easy commute. Katie had beat me there, of course. As we made our way to the office I remember being anxious. I like to fret about every little decision we make…especially any one that involved money. This was by far the biggest decision we had ever made, and probably ever will make. I knew it was the right decision. So did Katie. One more step in this exciting journey. Dr. Heller’s waiting room and office is decorated very eclectically. Just like the first visit, we walked into the waiting room and had a seat. There was no one to tell we were there - so we just wait. Pretty soon, Dr. Heller comes out, shakes our hands and invites us into her office. Here we go… Katie and I take a seat on the couch across from her. Because she’s primarily a psychologist, I find myself being quieter than I normally would in situations where I meet a new person. I remember thinking…she’s going to analyze me and think I am not suitable to adopt. This meeting is pretty formal though. She hands us the two page contract and we read through it line by line to make sure Katie and I are comfortable and understand what it means. This meeting also goes through the checklist of items that we will need to provide Dr. Heller when she comes to visit our home. Wow, there is a lot of stuff. Dr. appointments, HIV tests, FBI background checks, get-to-know you sheets, auto biographies, and reference letters. I know it will take forever, but I know that Katie is the kind of person who already has that planned out in her head. She’s very good about getting things like this done. Where I will procrastinate until the last minute, she’ll have all the ducks lined up the next day. During the meeting I get a little loosened up and crack some joke while talking about public schools vs. private schools. Hoping it will show Dr. Heller I’m fun. I think it went something like, “I went to public school, and look how great I turned out.” By the end of the meeting we were well on our way and strengthening our relationship with Dr. Heller. She gave us some tips on good cooking stores in St. Louis. All of us expressed our sadness to see the Viking Store in Brentwood close, but Dr. Heller had some excellent substitutes for this void in our lives! We also learned we seem to share with Dr. Heller a love of good food and dining out. Katie and I had planned on trying Granite City Brewery after we left her office, but she advised us to try Sugo’s instead. Sugo’s, an Italian place North of Frontenac plaza is apparently an “extension of her kitchen.” We told her we’d give it a try. We offered up the suggestion of the best Mexican restaurant north of the U.S.\Mexico border – La Carretta. La Carretta is an extension of our kitchen. As we drive towards Sugo’s for dinner we discuss who we will ask for reference letters. We even got three things checked off. Steve and Judy, Dan and Wendy, and Uncle Rich and Aunt Patty agree to write us recommendation letters. We’ll send them further details tomorrow via email. I told you Katie was good at getting things done.