Other People's Kids

And Just Like That

So I guess we'll be having a new arrival tentatively scheduled for the 14th. Those who have fostered will know what I mean when I say "tentatively", because nothing is firm in this business until it is in the past. Witness the fact that "Josie's" court appearance for tomorrow has been postponed until the 18th.

Yes, that's right, not only do we have to put up with The Brat (who I'm already going soft on again by the way) but we'll have a weekend where we'll have both of them together. To make it more fun, due to furniture considerations we're going to have to move "Josie" into the second room for that last weekend and the new little girl (whose false name I'll come up with when I know more about her) will have "Josie's" room, since the beds are smaller.

This is actually one of the fun parts of fostering, when you get a little notice. We have this little girl coming, and we know some things about her...but who is she? What things make her a special, unique person? How are we going to be able to help her? What things are going to drive us batshit (pardon my French) about her?

Is she really as badly damaged as they make her out to be, or will she be fine given a little good care and patience and love? They told us bad things about "Josie" too, and we would easily be able to turn her into an actual human given the time they refuse to give us. She's a good girl at heart, and much smarter than they told us she would be.

I guess that's the crux of it. No matter how much they tell you about a referral, you can throw it all in the trash most of the time. They never get it right. The only thing you can do is open your door and your heart and let the child step in and make themselves at home. What happens then is what happens.

But I'll tell you a little secret. I've got a good feeling about this one.

posted by Dan @ 6:15 PM