I'm supposed to write a 'Resume' for the Judge for court in February to explain why I haven't come forward until now, and what I can offer for my niece. I think I'll try drafting some ideas here first, and you can give me advice on what sounds good and what sounds bad.
To Whom It May Concern,
My name is _______, I am 24 years old, have been married for almost two years, graduated from _ _ _____ in the spring of 2012 and moved to Austin __ with my husband in the fall of that same year. I haven't come forward to ask for custody of my niece until now because I was concerned about how young you would see me as, and whether you would find my home to be stable for her.
I have been with Mimi since she was born, and our separation only really began when I moved to Japan in the Fall of 2010. When I came back, we had a few short months before she was taken into the system, but I have always sent her postcards, cards, and sometimes letters. I haven't received much in reply, and I haven't sent things too often because I wasn't sure where to send the mail in order for her to get it. From around September of 2013 to recently, I have been able to join in a few phone conversations with Mimi and her mother, thanks to Cin's generosity in calling via three-way.
Currently, I am enrolled in massage therapy school and will graduate around May of this year. My husband will also be graduating with a Masters in Chemical Engineering around the same time. We have lived in Austin for the last year and a half, and will be moving closer to North Carolina after we receive our diplomas and my husband signs on with a company of his choice. Our income is primarily based in my husband's work as a Teaching Assistant and his multiple tutoring jobs. Our typical income is around $30,000 a year. It isn't a lot, but we believe that as long as Mimi's health care is paid for, we can provide a comfortable living situation for her. We hope that in our consistent housing, stable financing, and future prospects, you will be confident enough to at least order an ICPC for our home to see if we are suitable to care for Mimi. We have a bedroom prepared, with everything except Mimi and her clothes.
We truly, sincerely hope you will give us the opportunity to give Mimi the stable and loving family she's been deprived of these last few years. Thank you for your time and please ask me anything that could clarify the situation for you.
Sincerely,
Runa.
>.< I had to edit out a few details and change a few things for identity protection. This really is the roughest draft I think I have ever written but I was mostly just trying to address each of the things I've been told they will want to know.
Also, I made another post below this one about my sister. Please give me all the advice you can and also read that one and give advice!! Pretty please!!
6 comments:
I thought this was a good start. I think you have all the important points covered. I think maybe you could expand on your husband's history a bit and make his wonderful job prospects more of a focus point. I think you did a good job making the two of you sound like super stable, goal-oriented, loving people (that bit about Reb tutoring children helps!). It's a big plus that you have been married most of 2 years, too, so it's great you mentioned that.
When you wrote that you have been with Mia since her birth until 2010, I was a bit confused. I know that you were able to spend a lot of time with her before you went to Japan for a year, but to me it read like you were saying lived with her continuously until that time. But I think I remember your sister moving her away for a few years when she was little, and you lived at our high school and then college for 4 years before going to Japan. I would suggest that you make it more clear. You can talk about how you went to the high school and college with your husband because you wanted to improve yourself and live the stable life an education provides, but were so grateful for the plentiful time you were still able to spend connecting with Mimi.
Oh wait, I see you didn't mention that a lot of the work he does is with little ones. You could change the wording to include that he works with kids Mia's age and teenagers. You could even talk about how he works with kids struggling with math/school/life.
Also, you can include the times when he expects to receive his master's degree when and you'll be finished with school. That way they will see that it is shortly after the time you would be getting her.
Hmm. And since you say it is a "resume," I think it would be great to really go through the details of you and your husband's history. I'm not sure how long it's supposed to be, but... I think it would be good to start with when she was born, back when you were basically a little girl yourself (only a year or so older than Mia is now). Write about how you went to high school, met Reb, went to college, did study abroad as part of your major (the "I went to Japan" part might make someone who doesn't know you do a double-take the way it is just kind of thrown in there now), got married right before graduating, what you've been doing since then, and your relationship with Mimi through all that. They need to know that since Mimi was born you've been busy growing up.
Hubby sent me a letter with improvements to be made. I don't think I can include all of what you said, but I can definitely throw in a lot more details that you've suggested. The little kiddie part is brilliant and I can't believe I didn't think to include it.
See, the judge is very likely to just glance at this resume and expect me to tell him most of the relevant details. I HATE when things depend on my public speaking. But damn if I'm not gonna do my best. Mimi deserves the best. So much to tell and so little I can say!! Augh!!
Ah that sucks. When do you need to be done? Is the court date still next month?
Good luck choosing her school/bus route/church/therapist!!
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