Our Day in Court
Gliwice, Poland - May 11, 2004
This is Lawrence. This is the post that you have all been waiting for. We went to court this morning and the children are now named MacDonald. M-A-C-D-O-N-A-L-D. This is their last name. Rest assured, that they do have first names and middle names also. Two of the children’s first names did not change at all and one child’s first name uses the same letters just rearranged. So, there are now six of us. Momma, Ross, the three kids we adopted today, and Tata.
I wanted to skip to the end of the story because I know that you all might be miffed with me if I told it in chronological order. Here is the fuller story of our day in court.
Last night Jozef, Elaine, and I took a cab to dinner. We wanted to have some wine and relax, so Jozef wisely suggested taking a cab to the restaurant. This is the restaurant that Jozef had been raving about and had promised to take us to for a more that a week.
We get there and find that there are no cars in the parking lot and the lights aren’t on. Jozef could not understand why we would not get out of the cab, but since we figured that it was not “everybody walk to dinner and eat in the dark night” in Poland, that the lack of any cars or lights was a bad sign. There was a sign that said that place was closed on Mondays. We had a good laugh about this at a time when we all needed one.
The restaurant that Jozef then took us to was fabulous. The meal was great and the service outstanding. In a later post, I will list the name and address. We enjoyed a nice Portuguese wine with a delicious dinner that included perfect and plentiful veggies. At dinner, Jozef told us how he got into this business. If you adopt with his assistance, he will tell you this story too. You should consider doing so as the story is well worth it. In all seriousness, how Jozef got in this business is not my story to tell. It is a great, heart-warming story, but is not the story we are telling here.
At dinner, Jozef briefed us as to what would happen in court. It was good to get an insight as to how the procedure was going to be. We talked about what questions are generally asked. Mostly, we just relaxed.
In the morning, I went downstairs to get Elaine coffee and food. I wasn’t hungry, but I ate a little anyway. In shocking news, I had some tea. I put on my suit that I had ironed two weeks ago and Elaine looked lovely in her dress. We met Jozef at 8:00 AM.
We have probably passed the court building 20 times since we got here as it is along the logical route to the children’s home. Still, going inside was a lot different from driving by it. It was very like courts in Lowell where I have had to serve jury duty and it was very different in some ways.
We arrived early, passed through security, and headed upstairs. We climbed a lot of stairs. Elaine - who is usually quick on her feet - kept lagging because of the dress shoes that she was wearing. We passed many nice benches, but none near where we needed to be. So, we stood and paced.
We were very happy to see Danuta the translator also arrived early. While waiting, Jozef asked her to read the social worker’s report to us. Let me just say this. We did good. It was very positive. As adults, we get very few report cards - at least in writing. So, it was heartening to know that this report was good before going into court.
Around 9:00 A.M. we were starting to wonder when we would begin and where Sister Director was. Sister is the children’s legal guardian. We could not proceed without her. Jozef quickly figured out that Sister Director was in the building talking to people about other cases. As we have said in other posts, she works hard to get these children freed-up for adoption.
Finally, we got called into the courtroom. It is not what I expect. It is far simpler than I had imagined it would be. There is a judge and two jurors sitting at a table. They are all wearing robes. The judge is sitting in the middle. She is also wearing a large chain with an very large Polish Eagle. This Polish Eagle is the sign that she is the judge. The D.A. is at another table and wearing a robe. Elaine, Jozef, Danuta, Sister Director, and I are asked to sit on a very uncomfortable bench at the back of the court. The only other person there was the court clerk taking notes on a very loud typewriter.
The proceedings start by verifying our personal data, documents being read into the record, and recording the children’s new legal names. The documents being read into the record are all ones that we have all seen, but it has to be done. These documents include the very good report that we got from the social worker.
Then the fun begins. They call me to testify. I stand at the bar as in English court. Danuta stands next to me to translate. I am very happy that she has such wonderful English skills. I understand some of the questions and even suspect that I could work out answers in Polish. However, I figured that if I started with my pigeon Polish that Jozef would NOT be happy. I answer in English and look directly at the judge. Your impulse is to look at the translator, but you must look at the judge. This is not as easy as you would think.
I felt strange in a business suit in a room of only adults talking about the kids and whether or not we would be good parents to them. It is the sort of thing that is easier to show. Yes, we had done that with the social worker and the nuns.
After I testified, Elaine testified. She was perfect. It is hard for me to tell, but I could swear that they questioned her longer than they questioned me. They also asked her harder questions. Elaine also got the follow-up questions from the DA. The most entertaining moment came when the DA asked how we communicate with the children. When she showed how we play the dinosaur game, it was funny enough that everyone either smiled or let out a small chuckle.
Sister Director was the only other witness. Did she support our partition? Yes, she did. That was the most important question of the day. She recapped the children’s history, but that part of the story is in the past and I think that we’ll skip that.
When talking about our bonding with the children, she talked about how even though “M” doesn’t say much, he was the first one waiting for us each day. She was very kind in her comments about us.
The children love the nuns and the women who work with the children. They are loved by them and feel safe with them. We know that the sisters are going to really miss the children and that makes it all the more impressive that the Sisters work to free them up for adoption. I guess that is the definition of love - doing what is best for the one you love. These Sisters are just awesome!
After Sister Director testified, the clerk asked us to step outside to wait for the verdict. We knew that it had gone well, but were still nervous. The great philosopher Yogi Berra said; “it ain’t over until it’s over.” Thankfully, we did not have to wait long. About 20 minutes later, we were called back in.
We stood for the verdict. The judge read it and then asked the translator to read it to us. She read it so matter-of-factly that I had to ask one more time. “Is it ‘yes’?” “Of course, it is yes.” The children are part of our family. Repeat. The children are now part of our family.
We thanked the judge and she said that she was pleased. Court was dismissed and we filed out into the hall. There were hugs all around. Sister Director was very happy. She asked us if we could try to keep “I’s” Polish up since he can already read and write. Of course, she would like us to try with all three. We promised to try. When the judge, jurors, and DA came out they all had big smiles on their faces.
One of the jurors came by, shook our hands, and told us that; “this is a wonderful thing!” Well said.
This is Lawrence. This is the post that you have all been waiting for. We went to court this morning and the children are now named MacDonald. M-A-C-D-O-N-A-L-D. This is their last name. Rest assured, that they do have first names and middle names also. Two of the children’s first names did not change at all and one child’s first name uses the same letters just rearranged. So, there are now six of us. Momma, Ross, the three kids we adopted today, and Tata.
I wanted to skip to the end of the story because I know that you all might be miffed with me if I told it in chronological order. Here is the fuller story of our day in court.
Last night Jozef, Elaine, and I took a cab to dinner. We wanted to have some wine and relax, so Jozef wisely suggested taking a cab to the restaurant. This is the restaurant that Jozef had been raving about and had promised to take us to for a more that a week.
We get there and find that there are no cars in the parking lot and the lights aren’t on. Jozef could not understand why we would not get out of the cab, but since we figured that it was not “everybody walk to dinner and eat in the dark night” in Poland, that the lack of any cars or lights was a bad sign. There was a sign that said that place was closed on Mondays. We had a good laugh about this at a time when we all needed one.
The restaurant that Jozef then took us to was fabulous. The meal was great and the service outstanding. In a later post, I will list the name and address. We enjoyed a nice Portuguese wine with a delicious dinner that included perfect and plentiful veggies. At dinner, Jozef told us how he got into this business. If you adopt with his assistance, he will tell you this story too. You should consider doing so as the story is well worth it. In all seriousness, how Jozef got in this business is not my story to tell. It is a great, heart-warming story, but is not the story we are telling here.
At dinner, Jozef briefed us as to what would happen in court. It was good to get an insight as to how the procedure was going to be. We talked about what questions are generally asked. Mostly, we just relaxed.
In the morning, I went downstairs to get Elaine coffee and food. I wasn’t hungry, but I ate a little anyway. In shocking news, I had some tea. I put on my suit that I had ironed two weeks ago and Elaine looked lovely in her dress. We met Jozef at 8:00 AM.
We have probably passed the court building 20 times since we got here as it is along the logical route to the children’s home. Still, going inside was a lot different from driving by it. It was very like courts in Lowell where I have had to serve jury duty and it was very different in some ways.
We arrived early, passed through security, and headed upstairs. We climbed a lot of stairs. Elaine - who is usually quick on her feet - kept lagging because of the dress shoes that she was wearing. We passed many nice benches, but none near where we needed to be. So, we stood and paced.
We were very happy to see Danuta the translator also arrived early. While waiting, Jozef asked her to read the social worker’s report to us. Let me just say this. We did good. It was very positive. As adults, we get very few report cards - at least in writing. So, it was heartening to know that this report was good before going into court.
Around 9:00 A.M. we were starting to wonder when we would begin and where Sister Director was. Sister is the children’s legal guardian. We could not proceed without her. Jozef quickly figured out that Sister Director was in the building talking to people about other cases. As we have said in other posts, she works hard to get these children freed-up for adoption.
Finally, we got called into the courtroom. It is not what I expect. It is far simpler than I had imagined it would be. There is a judge and two jurors sitting at a table. They are all wearing robes. The judge is sitting in the middle. She is also wearing a large chain with an very large Polish Eagle. This Polish Eagle is the sign that she is the judge. The D.A. is at another table and wearing a robe. Elaine, Jozef, Danuta, Sister Director, and I are asked to sit on a very uncomfortable bench at the back of the court. The only other person there was the court clerk taking notes on a very loud typewriter.
The proceedings start by verifying our personal data, documents being read into the record, and recording the children’s new legal names. The documents being read into the record are all ones that we have all seen, but it has to be done. These documents include the very good report that we got from the social worker.
Then the fun begins. They call me to testify. I stand at the bar as in English court. Danuta stands next to me to translate. I am very happy that she has such wonderful English skills. I understand some of the questions and even suspect that I could work out answers in Polish. However, I figured that if I started with my pigeon Polish that Jozef would NOT be happy. I answer in English and look directly at the judge. Your impulse is to look at the translator, but you must look at the judge. This is not as easy as you would think.
I felt strange in a business suit in a room of only adults talking about the kids and whether or not we would be good parents to them. It is the sort of thing that is easier to show. Yes, we had done that with the social worker and the nuns.
After I testified, Elaine testified. She was perfect. It is hard for me to tell, but I could swear that they questioned her longer than they questioned me. They also asked her harder questions. Elaine also got the follow-up questions from the DA. The most entertaining moment came when the DA asked how we communicate with the children. When she showed how we play the dinosaur game, it was funny enough that everyone either smiled or let out a small chuckle.
Sister Director was the only other witness. Did she support our partition? Yes, she did. That was the most important question of the day. She recapped the children’s history, but that part of the story is in the past and I think that we’ll skip that.
When talking about our bonding with the children, she talked about how even though “M” doesn’t say much, he was the first one waiting for us each day. She was very kind in her comments about us.
The children love the nuns and the women who work with the children. They are loved by them and feel safe with them. We know that the sisters are going to really miss the children and that makes it all the more impressive that the Sisters work to free them up for adoption. I guess that is the definition of love - doing what is best for the one you love. These Sisters are just awesome!
After Sister Director testified, the clerk asked us to step outside to wait for the verdict. We knew that it had gone well, but were still nervous. The great philosopher Yogi Berra said; “it ain’t over until it’s over.” Thankfully, we did not have to wait long. About 20 minutes later, we were called back in.
We stood for the verdict. The judge read it and then asked the translator to read it to us. She read it so matter-of-factly that I had to ask one more time. “Is it ‘yes’?” “Of course, it is yes.” The children are part of our family. Repeat. The children are now part of our family.
We thanked the judge and she said that she was pleased. Court was dismissed and we filed out into the hall. There were hugs all around. Sister Director was very happy. She asked us if we could try to keep “I’s” Polish up since he can already read and write. Of course, she would like us to try with all three. We promised to try. When the judge, jurors, and DA came out they all had big smiles on their faces.
One of the jurors came by, shook our hands, and told us that; “this is a wonderful thing!” Well said.