More updates

The latest update from the social worker is that she called M and M called her back. They are going to have the rescheduled appointment with the other social worker, but M was saying all the apartments she was looking at wanted to know who'd be paying her rent. The SW thinks there are some huge red flags here and wanted to talk to us before we pay any money, so she said she'd call M back. She asked M point-blank about her voice message. M hesitated, and then had a fast comeback and said that her third child, the one she isn't raising, is coming to live with her for the summer. She had previously told the SW that she didn't have much contact with them. M then called me, and said she'd been out looking for apartments. We chatted for a few, and then I asked her about the voice message (the SW recommended that I ask her and see what I got for an answer). She said that she needed to change the message, because her youngest had come for the summer (remember she just told the SW that she was coming for the summer, not already there). I said "you call her Junior?" and she said the parents did, because she looks like her father, and she was going to change the message to say the girl's name. The social worker's gut feeling is that M is just in this for the money and that she's very desperate to get a place to live. She thinks it's likely that it could fall through at the end and we'll be out the money (and heartache), but also said her crystal ball hadn't been very accurate lately. I don't know what to think or do. I left a message with my facilitator and want to discuss it with her, because I trust her.

We decided to give the first month's expenses and take our trip (and we arrived at this decision independently). We only have to give her about $1000, and we will just use it as part of our charity budget if we decide to walk. And we'll figure it out from there. The answering machine thing is very strange and it troubles me (I'm curious to see if the message has changed), but we decided we're not quite ready to walk away. I want to meet her in person before I accept/reject her; I think we have enough of a relationship that it's important. But I will be very careful, and we agreed if we don't feel good at any point we WILL walk away.

Sigh, it can never be easy, can it?