Friday’s Foster Care Blog
With Harriet still under the weather, I am grateful that I work mostly from home so I am able to help with childcare with the children off school this week. Harriet is also dispatching me to do various jobs that need doing, and it gives me a real insight into the complexity and variety of her day to day life. Though we are both foster carers, Harriet is the designated primary carer, as one of us needs to be available to take on the bulk of the care for Alice. Although we try and share most tasks, as I work full-time it is inevitable that Harriet ends up being more ‘hands on’ on a day-by-day basis. Child care is slightly easier today, as Lauren is away sleeping over at a friends house, and is not due back until this afternoon.
Today we need to pick up some important prescriptions for Alice from the local pharmacy. After being handed the medicines and returning home, Harriet asks where the other bundle of medicines are. She carries so much information in her head, she is aware of exactly how much medicine should be arriving and what quantity has been ordered! There are clearly a number of items missing from the order.
Harriet decides she is well enough to attempt the second visit to the pharmacy to collect the rest of the order. On arriving she is told the reason the rest of order was not given to me was because the Doctor’s surgery had not sent the information through to the pharmacy! This means Harriet has to walk round to the surgery to request a new prescription, which will take another three days!
As she returns home without the medicine, she is cheered slightly by the news that I am planning to venture out to buy some Christmas presents. and she is able to rest at home for the afternoon. Upon my return from the shops, instead of resting I find her trying to avoid World War Three from breaking out between the children. This is mainly because Lauren has returned from her sleep-over, only it appears there was not much sleep involved and she is very grumpy! Again I marvel at how Harriet manages to stay sane in her day-to-day life and I have been given a glimpse into the challenges she faces on a daily basis. My appreciation for her, already very high, rises a few notches, and I have learnt some valuable lessons about how I can support her more in what she does for our family!
A Less Ordinary Family Fostering Blog
