11th through 21st

So the last two weeks have been bad news on top of bad news.

A day or two after my last big post, we heard from Huckle's adoption worker (not to be confused w/ his state case worker). Turns out that the CW didn't submit Huckle's file to be deidentified back in February, or March, or April. We'd suspected as much, of course, and I was starting to believe that the file was lost.

The file was submitted at the end of September.

No files were redacted over the Summer, so there is a backlog of files dating from May, June, July, August, September, and now October.

So, the ballpark for having the file ready was 4-6 months.

Disbelief, of course. Burst of rage. Then bargaining ("How about you hire me as an intern, I'll redact fifty files, and someone else can do ours? I have a background check!). Tearful calls to Hubs and my mom. A little more rage. Multiple instances of taking Huck's CW's name in vain (the CW's last name has become my dad's new favorite substitute for "screwed" -- as in, 'The landscaper really Olsen'd the front bushes, don't you think?'). After about a week, I figured we may as well settle in for another seven months.

And the CW still hadn't called/returned a call (since June) or seen Huckle (since March). However, our agency SW was kicking down his inbox and voicemail, and after a week had passed since we'd been told of our new timeline, she got ahold of his supervisor and explained the difficulties we've had with the file, the lack of communication and visits, the inability to get his LOC reviewed because of (the CW's) missing paperwork, and the months long delay in submitting the adoption paperwork.

Last Friday, Huck's CW called our SW. Olsen (the name I'll just call him from now on, if I remember) must have had a fresh ass chewing, because he was mostly trying to find out from our SW what she'd said to his boss. The few times he talked about us or Huck, it was to say that he's entirely on top of everything, all the paperwork has been submitted within a week of it being requested, that he'd already talked to me that morning, and that the adoption and the LOC paperwork was all in order and awaiting approval. In addition, he said that Huckle's file was TOTALLY REDACTED and that we could see it anytime (and that we could have seen it anytime in the last five months). . . but that now we couldn't see it until after Wednesday (today). (I'm figuring he brought the file and a Sharpie home over the weekend). What's more, the LOC request would be coming back early this week (it came back Monday, actually) and he couldn't think of any reason why it wouldn't be approved.

He never asked about Huckle or how he's doing. Just tried to cover himself, was how our SW explained it.

Well, last Friday I could only dispute a few of those statements -- for example, he never called us on any of our lines (home/office/cells). And since my requests to see the file were ignored, I tend to disbelieve that we could have seen it anytime in the last five months. Oh, and that "always available to the family" thing? That was wrong too.

But hey! Just because he made up all those things doesn't mean he's making up the stuff I can't disprove, right? So, hey! Maybe the file is ready and it just didn't get logged! Maybe the adoption paperwork was complete! Maybe the level of care request would come back the way he said!

In spite of everything, I was hopeful. Yay! I thought that perhaps the adoption wouldn't take until Spring or Summer. Maybe we could finalize in December. Maybe our SW's conversation with Olsen's supervisor would be enough. Maybe I wouldn't have to start rocking the boat myself and worry about possible retaliation. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

Hope is dangerous, you know. Before Friday, I was feeling pretty beaten down, and I'd resigned myself to more waiting, more uncertainty. But once there was a shot in hell? Sign me up. I'm in. Rock and roll.

So, since it is getting late and I will have to finish the story later, lets summarize my frame of mind over the weekend:

Happy
Excited
Relieved
Optimistic
Willing to keep my mouth shut and not throw Olsen under the bus
Looking forward to getting this show on the road with a minimum of sturm und drang

For all the missteps, it seemed that there was an end to Olsen's incompetence.

And, uh, there wasn't.