Never in All My Life...

Fast Forward to Monday. I should have known after such a tumultous Friday that I could not expect to come in to a normal run-of-the-mill Monday morning. It started out very cold which always makes me move slowly. So I meader my way to the office with big intentions for my day. A to-do list that I never got to "do" .
I had an appt at 10am in Monroe with a new CPA. Mr. Richmond needed to be there too, but since he had open heart surgery, he can't drive. So off I go at 9am to stop by Fred's to pick up mouse traps and peanut butter on my way to the house (don't ask). I pick up Mr. Richmond who is running late as usual and is still in PJ's and robe when I arrive at 9:40am. We pull out of the driveway at 10:05 to make our appt. Lo and Behold... I show up at the wrong office, a fact we discovered after he and I braved a construction zone in the building, tramped up two flights of stairs and met with the blank stare of the receptionist. So off we buzz at 10:25am to the right location. Fashionably late at the very least. An hour and a half later, we get a cell phone call from his wife, Mrs. Terri. We are supposed to go after our meeting to pick up the birth mother from Friday and her entire "herd" for a counseling session. Plans changed quickly and now we are supposed to meet them at the hotel to have the counseling session in the lobby. Only this is a motel not a hotel, so there is no lobby to speak of. So the three amigos trudge around in the freezing cold to find room 125. You would think that would be the easiest part of my day, but it was like the person who put the number plates on the doors either couldn't count or was playing "Darlin's grab bag" It must have been funny... We go to room 123, 124, then wait...wait... 111??? So we backtrack. Ahh... here we go... 127, 126, 148?? lol. Finally the housekeeper/maid (pushing a stolen wal-mart shopping cart with her cleaning supplies) tells us to go upstairs. Yes, upstairs for room 125. Anyway, it gets much better and much worse as stories sometimes go.
The motel room was filthy and reeked of smoke. The heater was not working well enough and the less than two week old baby was in a short sleeve shirt with a tiny little blanket in the middle of a big, cold bed while no one was watching her. She was literally shivering when I picked her up!!
So the "mother" (and I use the term lightly) was in the shower and we had to make nice with the "boyfriend" for a while. Finally, the counseling session was to begin and we had to make ourselves scarce. I convinced them not to let the baby outside in the cold wind, so she stayed in the room. Mr. Richmond, myself, the "boyfriend", and the two year old decided to take a field trip to Walgreens for her Rx. Then we went to the gas station. Then we pull up in the parking lot of the motel thinking we had been scarce long enough when the cell phone rings. It's Mrs. Terri reminding us that Richmond's therapy is at 1:30pm. So....(can you hear the camptown races playing by now?) off we go to the clinic to drop him off. I return with my live cargo to the room where the counseling is over.
~insert side note~ while we were standing in the room waiting for them to get ready to go, the counselor noticed the little girl had something in her hand. It was a very strong Rx pill. We pried them from her hands and shared a look that said enough. She threw a fit on the floor and the other two didn't even notice. They were busy looking for the Rx bottle we just had filled. A major big dose of anxiety medication. ~end side note~
So as the counselor leaves for another appt. I am stuck holding the bag. Literally. They were so busy drugging themselves up and thinking I didn't notice, that they would have walked right out the door without the baby! I had to load her in the carseat and insist that we were not leaving the room until they found a hat to put on her head. Since she didn't even have a coat. We pile up and head to the office where she is to meet the adoptive mom, sign her papers, and get her money.
Fast fwd through the variety show hour to 3:00pm and here I am rushing them out the door to take them to the bank to deposit her precious check so she can get to her dr. appt by 3:30pm. A very important appt. where they planned to insert an IUD contraceptive that will hopefully stave off future incidents. (I'm no advocate of Planned Parenthood, but believe me...this is a good idea) We get to the bank and realize that she needs two forms of ID. Of course, she only has one. So I then take them back to the motel to get her SS card. They go upstairs for a while. No doubt medicating themselves. When they come out it is now 3:18 and we are in a mad rush to get to the bank and on to the clinic. Halfway there she realizes that she left her jacket in her room which had her ID, her check, her pills, her medicaid card, etc.. We also get a call saying that her its no wonder she can't find her SS card, it was in the ratty diaper bag she had with her when she dropped off the baby. All I can say at this point is "Thank you, Jesus that she has already signed and the baby is now in good hands"
I just have to tell them that the check will have to wait for tomorrow. She is mad about it and not because she won't be able to buy food, but because the wal-mart card that Jackie gave her is not enough to buy cigarettes and alcohol. Ahhh!!!
Anyway, I drop them at the clinic at 3:39pm and finally reach the office for a cup of coffee and a sigh of relief.
Days like this are going to be hard. My only consolation is that I know how important it was to do whatever had to be done, even to the point of extreme inconvenience, to get that baby's freedom. I know I only saw her two days, but I have such an absolute LOVE for her that it brings tears to my eyes. I can sleep well tonight in my clean, warm bed knowing that she will too. Don't you just love happily ever afters? Stay tuned for another episode...