I could tell by her hesitation. No one canceled.
They saw the Davenport name and expedited the interview process.
“Yes. Of course we’ll be there.”
“Do you need to check with your partner?”
“No,” Nate says quickly. “I can promise you, both she and I are flexible and will do whatever it takes to make the appointment.”
“Okay.” I can hear her smiling. “I’m glad. One other thing: this is not a day event. It will be over three days. The first two days, you won’t even tour the main part of the property. You will go through multiple rounds of interviews. If you pass that round, we will have you fill out another application that will be much more intense. If that goes well, you will then meet with our in-house psychologist. She will also conduct an interview, and on Saturday, we will have you tour our main campus, where the children live. After that, there are still steps, more interviews, but if you’ve made it to Saturday, it is a good sign.”
I love how thorough they are and how important it is for them that we are a good fit.
“We understand and are ready to take the next step,” Nate replies, and I nod in agreement.
“Excellent. I’m glad to hear. In the next few hours, you will receive an email with the address, nearby hotels, and a list of what to bring for the interview. We will also lay out a schedule to help best prepare you for the process. I will follow up in two days, on Wednesday, to confirm. We at Healing Horizons look forward to meeting you and Madeline. We will be in touch soon.”
“We very much look forward to it. Thank you for the call.”
“Nate!” I shout in excitement the moment he hangs up. I jump into his arms, and he spins me around.
I’ve never felt joy like this.
“Yeah, baby! We’re going to Vermont.”
Nate
It’s our third day in Vermont, and we’re finally getting the official tour of the main premises.
The last two days were grueling. I’ve never been interviewed or asked so many personal questions in my life, but I understand why they do it.
Adopting a child from Healing Horizon comes with bigger responsibilities than adopting elsewhere; they wouldn’t chance an adoption with an unfit family.
I don’t know what I expected when I visited here, but the setup is homey and welcoming.
It’s not a big cold building; it’s a campus-style property, where they converted an estate into the main area.
This is where the younger kids live.
The older children share small cottages on the property. Each child gets their own bedroom, and at a certain age, even a locked private area, to help them feel safe.
They’ve designed everything with intention and trauma in mind.
No harsh lighting, soundproof therapy rooms, and weighted blankets are kept everywhere. No loud alarms, and there are calm rooms scattered throughout it, where anyone can take a moment for themselves.
There are on-site trauma therapists, art therapists, music rooms, homeschooling classrooms, and even meditation classes.
They are a large-donor-dependent organization, relying mainly on others’ support to fund their mission, and, thankfully, have succeeded in raising enough so far.
Of course, our family will be donating, but not until we are officially approved, so there is no bias.
I roll my lips, trapping my emotions, as we walk through the house, taking in all the children living here. As a kid, I dreamed of being saved, and luckily, I was, eventually.
These children have had the same luck I did and, hopefully, will be adopted by a loving family some day soon. But I can’t help but think of all the kids who had it ten times worse than I did, or for the ones who never escape.
The ones who are still waiting for their knight in shining armor.
Anne gestures toward her office, and we follow her in to go over the tour and our thoughts we’ve had so far today.
