Sunday’s Fostering Blog
After a day of catching up with all the washing that accumulated over the holiday and putting away everything we have taken on holiday, I feel pretty exhausted and in need a rest. I put on the kettle and make a cuppa – ten minutes on my own with a cup of tea will do wonders. We soon get back into the swing of things and it is now time to get ready for a new week to begin. Uniforms need to be ironed and packed lunches need to be made and bags need to be packed with everything needed for the following day.
Annie who is 14 and Lauren who is 12 are able to help with these things and I can pretty much leave them to get their own stuff ready. We have a copy of their school timetables on the kitchen wall – so they can check what lessons they have coming up. They just have to remember is it week one or week two on their timetable! It was so much easier when I was at school at every week was the same! They have a quick check to make sure all their homework is up-to-date and then get their bags ready for Monday.
Alice however is only eight and whilst at that age Lauren and Annie would be doing a little to help, it is not really possible for her to help. Alice is our foster daughter, she is physically disabled and in a wheelchair and she has learning difficulties and problems with comprehension. She also has a lot of behavioural issues, so it feels like there is a lot to negotiate with and lots of battles that take place; we have to choose which battles are the most important ones to face. We also have to be realistic with her limitations and there are many things that she simply cannot do not because we are not wanting her to reach her potential, she just does not physically or mentally have the capacity to do certain things.
As well as getting ready for the week ahead with practical things for school I also need to get ready Alice’s supplies for the week including all her medications and continence supplies for school. I regularly have to check on supply levels and make sure that I order ahead of time her prescriptions and continence products from the local continence service. They are usually pretty good at getting things to me on time but there have been a few occasions where I have been let down and we have run out of supplies. This results in a panic trip to the local hospital to be bailed out. I now keep an emergency supply of everything for those ‘just in case moments’.
Funnily enough since I have done that, I have not needed them! However I will continue to keep this stash – just in case! Charlie gets Alice to bed while I continue to get everything ready and then we have a couple of hours with Lauren and Annie before their bedtime. We often use the time to chat and catch up or to play a game or just sit and have time out and watch a DVD. Tonight we opted for the DVD and we sit in our lounge with blankets, enjoying the last day of the holidays before school is back tomorrow.
A Less Ordinary Family Foster Care Blog
