Our assessment is finally over, last week our SW sent us our finished PAR, it took me nearly two hours to read! It was weird reading about ourselves in so much detail and quite emotional to see our lives and journey so far written down. I was so impressed with how well our SW had captured us, especially since she has only known us since stage two. The whole thing was incredibly positive which was reassuring! I think all our hours of writing and talking paid off, even though it seems like just an overview, all the detail we went into enabled her to gain a clear picture of who we are. We managed to get a last minute decent photo of us on a coastal path in cornwall for the front, both smiling and with eyes open which is better than any of the others we'd attempted! funny to think that photo will be seen by lots of social workers eying us up as potential parents - i hope we come across suitably wholesome, outdoorsy and lovely!
Last night our SW came over to talk through what to expect at Panel, and go through a few possible questions. It all seems pretty straightforward, its sort of presented as just a formality so its hard to gage how nervous to feel. We also excitedly talked a lot about matching, our SW is on it already and has made a few enquiries, she seems almost as excited as us! This move into the world of matching is going to be a real step up in terms of intensity, I'm incredibly excited as the prospect of becoming a family becomes close enough to imagine but also a little apprehensive about the frustrations that can come with waiting for things to move forward. Who knows what to expect, it definitely feels like we've reached a different path in the labyrinth of adoption and might need a different map.
I remember how surreal reading that document was, it only came back to me as I read your post. It sounds like you have a great SW which makes this process so much easier. We were also made to feel panel was a bit of a formality but I was still very nervous on the day and it was a little scary knowing questions asked could dramatically affect our future. Be confident that you are going to be amazing parents but also be prepared.