Fosterman – Fostering Blog.
Another fun packed and very busy weekend. We James (name changed) off of school it has seemed like being back in lockdown but the weekend changed that.
Ok so Saturday was pretty normal, we did some chores, changed James’ bedding and he cleaned out the fish tank. We had a bit of a tidy in the garden and generally made the place look spick and span. We then walked over to the barracks to watch the gun salute for Prince Philip, which was very solemn and quite moving.
James was asking questions about him so I filled him in on Prince Philip’s background. James was impressed. In the afternoon we watched football and James checked that all his football kit was ready for his game on Sunday. In fact James checked his kit on several occasions so I typed a list of all his essentials and we pinned it on the notice board in the kitchen.
The evening was spent watching football and then we watched a film about Mount Everest. James declared that he would, one day, climb Everest and I smiled.
So the big day has arrived. James is back out on the football pitch so watch out world. We had to wake up at 7:30, on a Sunday! James checked his bag, again, and put his kit and training top on. It was cold so he put some jogging bottoms on as well.
I was a 20 minute drive to the venue and I could sense that he was nervous as he was very quiet. Once we got there and he was with his mates he seemed to relax a bit and I left him to it while I grabbed a cuppa and chatted to some of the other parents.
The team they were playing were in a higher league but as it was a friendly I wasn’t expecting much. However the match was 22 teenagers who hadn’t played for a while. They tore into each other and the referee had to calm things down on a couple of occasions.
Poor old James got hit, full pelt, in the unmentionables, by the ball which wasn’t fun on a chilly morning. I managed to suppress any laughter. The game finished 2-2 and the lads had played really well. James scored one and missed a good chance but he had worked hard and put in a good performance. He looked shattered and very cold but also appeared happy with his morning. The Coach came over and gave James a medal for Man of the Match.
He was absolutely delighted. I gave him 10 minutes to catch up with his mates and then we set off for home.
The quiet boy of earlier was replaced with another who talked incessantly all the way home. When we got home I got him to clean his boots, get out of his dirty kit, which went straight in the washing machine, and jump in the bath. I reminded him to rinse the bath around after he got out.
The rest of Sunday was spent watching football and listening to James talking about the match. He then phoned each of my sons to tell them about his Man of the Match performance and then he Facetimed Paige to tell her too.
So I told him that next day we would go to the local shopping centre and I would treat him to something. What a mistake that was.
Fosterman – A Simply Fostering Blogging Foster Carer.
