So Many Options

Oh look! It's another Democratic debate! Only this time being held in the City of Bitterly Love, Philadelphia. If you like that sort of thing it's on ABC at 8pm. If you'd like to make it more fun, get a couple of beverages together and take a drink every time someone says, "bitter" or "elitist" or "condescending." You'll be under your coffee table by 8:30.

I'm going to try to watch it but I am also working on finishing my required hours of parent education for the adoption of Baby Sister. You'll recall my breathlessly indignant post that the Hague now requires me to take classes and get certificates of continuing education in...parenthood...in order to be eligible to adopt again. So rather than sit around and feel irritated about the perceived indignity of having to prove I'm a good mother I just got into Mom Mode ("It's Not About Me") and signed up for all the classes, which mercifully can be done online. I just finished my first one (might as well productively use my insomnia time, no?), and in all honesty can actually see how they might be helpful for people who haven't done a lot of independent reading or research prior to pursuing adoption, or who might be waiting first-time parents.

So this is my mea culpa for being all wiggy about the classes. They have helpful information on attachment, bonding and being a conspicuous family for parents pursuing adoption; and truly, anything that puts more information into the hands of parents is a good thing. It would just be great if they differentiated between students who currently are parenting a child and those who are not, as well as those adopting infants versus those adopting older kids from "the system" in order to make it all a little more relevant. I will confess to completely tanking on the sections regarding the adoption of older kids from the foster care system. It was all I could do to not write on my final essay about What I Learned, "I learned that I would need far more training and skillset development to effectively, competently and ethically parent an older child from a painful background." I was THAT bad at it, y'all. Which was humbling in a good way.

So we'll see if I end up doing debate stuff, attachment stuff, or blogging about last night's American Idol (it was..gaaack...Mariah Carey night). Or, I could give you the short version: no one gets dinged this week simply because Mariah Carey songs are so dreadfully unsingable by anyone but Mariah Carey that to ask anyone to do anything with any of her stuff is to ask too much. So, Idol Contestants, consider this your John McCain-Inspired "Criticism Holiday"! But unlike those tax cuts he likes, this ain't permanent.

Have a great Wednesday!