The Most Important Court Date EVER...

 ...Happened 20 years ago today.


There are many important dates and steps when adopting a baby/child.  I've forgotten too many of them.  The day in April 2005 that my husband called me (and I didn't answer because even though I had 2 cell phones at the time, I was in a business meeting and could get to neither) telling me that a birth mother was interested in us.  The day in May 2005, when we had our first phone call with our birth mother and spent too much time (at least for the lady at the adoption agency) talking about classic rock, Stephen King novels and Spamalot.  The weekend in June (I believe June 11th and 12th...which would have been my father's birthday weekend) when we drove 4+ hours to meet our birth mother, went out to dinner with her family and then had breakfast with her and the birth father (who was no longer in our birth mother's life.)  A day in June when my husband, mother-in-law and father-in-law went shopping for baby supplies and then my husband surprised me with a pseudo baby shower consisting of so many items that I didn't know I would need.  (Some of which I didn't.) July 23rd when we had a birthday party for my husband, but most of the gifts he received were  actually for our son.  And of course late night on August 3rd, when we got the call that our birth mother had started labor and that we should start our drive up late the next morning.  (Little did anyone know that our son was in a hurry and would be born before we even started our trek at 7 in the morning.)

However, April 27th is an incredibly important day.  And it was the most amazing day.  It was the day that we went to court in Newark, NJ and a judge officially declared that we were our son's parents.  (Honestly, we had been just that even before he was born, but legally this was it.)

The three of us, along with my father (my mother stayed behind to keep watch over things and to make sure that we had champagne and cake when we got home) drove to the courthouse in Newark.  With our son in  a stroller we went into the courthouse and waited.  We met our attorney, who we had spoken to numerous times, but never met.  We went into a courtroom.  We were introduced to the Judge.  (Judge Cohen).

Video (thanks Dad) shows that I'm the one who answered the questions that were set before me.  Then it was officially declared that we were the parents.  And in celebration many photos were taken.  (How often does a judge ask if you want a photo with him?  How many times can you say yes?)

And then we went home to celebrate.  To eat cake (thanks Mom...even though I couldn't eat it because of my allergies) which read:  JLS is OURS!  (Thanks Mom!)  To drink champagne (not too much).  To welcome friends and family to our house all day long.  (I had told people they would drop by whenever they wanted to and they did.)

It turned into a HOT day.  (Photos confirm this.)  More importantly, it was a joyful day.  And it continues to be a joyful one for me as well as I remember it.

Our son was part of us long before this ceremony.  He was ours from the first time we laid eyes on him.  From when we held him.  From when we held him.  From when we fed him.  From when we changed his diaper.  From when we held him as he cried.  He was ours and we LOVED him.  (We love him still; we will never stop.)

But it's important (at least to me) to remember this day every year, just as we remember the day of his birth (in August).  Because it was official.  It had ALWAYS been true, but now it was legally true and binding.

So I can't let this day pass without recognition.  Recognition of all that happened and all that were a part of it.

Thank you.

But most importantly, thank you to JLS for being our son.  You have made our lives so much better.  You continue to make our lives better.  We love you.

Happy April 27th.


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