Chapter 12 - Lizzy Could Not Simply Come Home With Me Forever
The night I found her, she was discharged to:
me
under an emergency safety arrangement.
Temporary.
Not:
instant adoption.
I slept on my sofa.
Lizzy got:
my bed.
The next morning she woke at:
5:52
and stood beside me holding her bear.
“Can I have breakfast?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“Anything reasonable.”
She looked uncertain.
“Toast?”
“Yes.”
“Egg?”
“Yes.”
“Both?”
That nearly destroyed me.
“Yes.”
Both.
But love did not solve:
guardianship.
Child welfare evaluated:
me.
Home size.
Work schedule.
Background.
Financial stability.
Ability to provide:
school transportation,
childcare,
medical care.
I had to demonstrate that becoming Lizzy’s caregiver was not simply:
a guilt reaction.
Fair.
My apartment was too small for a permanent placement under the preferred plan.
So I moved.
Not into a mansion.
A two-bedroom rental twenty minutes from Lizzy’s school.
I negotiated:
less travel
at work.
My boss said:
“We can restructure your region.”
I had spent eighteen months assuming career flexibility would be impossible without ever forcing my employer to:
answer.
Humbling.
A licensed after-school program covered:
two days.
I handled:
three.
My friend Tessa became approved backup.
Not perfect.
A system.
Gloria’s guardianship was temporarily suspended.
Then reviewed in court.
I petitioned to become:
Lizzy’s guardian.
Not because:
I rescued her once.
Because I believed I could provide the long-term home she needed.
The judge did not grant it immediately.
Good.
There were:
evaluations,
hearings,
attorneys,
reports.
Children deserve more than adults declaring:
May you like
mine now.
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