Thursday’s Fostering Blog
This has turned out to be one of those crazy weeks which seems to be getting out of control. Lauren started high school this term and up until now things had been running pretty smoothly. However, this week the phone calls and texts from Lauren have started. I’m getting that funny sense of dejavu. “mum, I have forgotten my planner”, “mum, I have forgotten my maths book”, “mum, I’ve forgotten my cookery book” and so on. The phone call usually ends with a little pause and then “please can you bring it to school” And I like a good mum, have been up and down the school like a yo-yo, ensuring Lauren has the things she has forgotten, so that she doesn’t get a detention. It is just as well I am based at home! And to be fair when I am not available, Charlie can do the rescuing!
So those are the things that have been in her control that she has forgotten and to be honest I did give Annie the same level of grace until she started year nine. Now I am trying to let her learn the consequences of when she forgets things – to help her become a little bit more self sufficient and a little less reliant. But then there are also the things that are just outside of their control, like when today Lauren got home and informed me of all the ingredients she needs for her cookery class tomorrow! Tomorrow! So once tea is cooked and eaten, we head straight out to the local supermarket to try and source the ingredients along with the other 29 parents from her class.
I know that some things can’t be helped but this is becoming a bit of a habit and I don’t know how a single parent who also has younger children would cope with this situation. One thing I do know is that if Charlie is ever out at a meeting on one of these occasions we too will be stuck. I don’t like it wade in too much with teachers at secondary school, I know the girls can feel embarrassed and I am trying to teach them to sort out problems for themselves, but I think the time has come for me to send a ‘gentle’ email asking for more notice when ingredients need to be taken in, especially when they are ingredients that are not normally found in my food cupboard. Fortunately, for Lauren we get everything she needs and panic is over – well that is until the next cookery lesson! Hopefully what she will bring home will be more edible than the usual mess that arrives home having been kept upside down in her bag for the majority of the day.
A Less Ordinary Family Foster Care Blog
