Planned parenthood

On Monday the 18th at 2:30pm, I'm having a baby!

Well, not exactly a baby, but a 16 year old boy... A boy who needs a family and security and a whole lotta lovin' - so it's basically the same thing, isn't it?

I'm already envisioning constant feeds, being kept awake at night, and a perpetual stinkin' mess around here.
Although I'm just grateful that there won't be any burping going on.
Oh wait... this is a 16 year old boy... so I guess that there will probably be plenty of burping and bottom burping going on.

Yay me.

Anyway, with him coming in just 5 days, I'm down to the wire here as far as preparations go.
He'll need a bed, clothing, and food and all the stuff that a 16 year old thinks is necessary for his well-being.
Like an X-Box and access to a computer because he considers himself to be a face book addict.
And especially, a never ending supply of food.

It just kind of breaks my heart to think of a young man getting to the age of 16 and basically having nothing that he can call his own... you know what I mean?
No stuff of his own, other than what basically fits in a backpack...
And although life isn't about - or shouldn't be about - what we have or don't have as far as things go, I still think that what we own in life - our stuff - sort of defines us as being "us".

I had the caseworker out here last week, and he shared some of Mr.B's history... as well as a form that Mr. B had filled out all by himself, listing his needs and wants and likes and dislikes... And I swear, after reading that list, I was on the verge of tears.

Now, this is a boy "classified" as having an intellectual disability, but if that list and the things he had written on that list are anything to go by, he's well ahead of the average 16 year old when it comes to explaining things, and having insights into his own personality.

This boy knows his limitations... but he also knows how to communicate the reasons that he sometimes acts the way he does... and from what little I've read, he has amazing insight into the issues that he faces.

I have high hopes for this placement working out, and I think that we just might be damned good for one another.

And the best part of having an almost fully grown boy?
No diapers.
Unless they're saving that one as a surprise...