David's Story Part 18: Permanency Hearing

12/10/04
Mary,

Yesterday was David's permanency hearing. That is a routine event, but it was still emotionally significant. David went to so many of these. He went and he waited for his mother to show up and try to get him and his two brothers back. She would fail to show, the judge would decide to give her another chance before terminating her parental rights and they would all be back in another two months. So though David down-played it, it was a big deal that Hubby and I both took the day off from work to go to the hearing. None of us, not even David, had to be there. But we were. This time David was in court with parents.

We all got to say that we were very happy and the judge said that it looked like David's permanency plan was a good one. We also got news about David's brothers. His oldest younger brother, Db1, who is 13, insisted on staying with the adoptive father even though Db2 (10) is being sent back to foster care. Db1 will be adopted and David and Db2 will be able to go visit them in the summer. Db2 is with a foster mother about 20 miles away from us. She specializes in tough kids and has had an excellent track record with them. Littlest brother Db3 is still with their birth mother who has been tracked down and is living with friends. She seems to be coping well and social services is keeping an eye on things. David may have been misinformed about there being yet another child. (A friend of his had seen her with a baby.)

After the permanency hearing we went to eat at a horrible fast food Chinese place. I got a fortune cookie that said, "Stop searching forever for happiness. It is right next to you." David, who was sitting next to me, grinned.

David's Story Part 19: David's Brother
David's Story Part 1: The Beginning