Fostermans Blog About Fostering
Getting used to this drive to South London now. It helps being a Sunday morning as the traffic is light going there but busy coming back at midday. As the other local lad is no longer going I was a loner in the cafeteria drinking my rather nice cappuccino and watching the distant lads play. Parents are discouraged from standing by the pitch during training so I spent 2 hours watching the tv in the cafeteria and flicking through social media on my phone.
I am always careful what I put on social media. I know its checked by social services and my agency so I post nothing that could be construed as controversial and keep the settings as private. So James (name changed) finished and came in and sat with me before we hit the road. Poor lad was exhausted but very happy. The session had been hard but he really enjoyed it. He was getting to know some of the lads and was very happy that he was making new friends.
The journey home was a bit of a nightmare. The Sunday drivers were out in force and people were making the most of the sunny weather. We finally got home and James went off for a bath and to sort his gear out. The rest of Sunday was watching football on telly and chilling out. James had broken up from school so we tried to plan a couple of days out.
Paige’s parents had invited him down to their chalet in Kent for a couple of days and I wanted to see my boys and maybe have a round of golf. We made a few flexible plans and thought of a couple of days out that we could do. We decided to have a day in London so we pencilled in a date for that and James had always wanted to see Windsor castle so we pencilled that in too.
So Monday was a ‘non alarm’ day and, even though I was up at 8, James surfaced at about 11 after the exertions of the previous day. We hadn’t organised anything for that day so James went to see Paige while I did the washing and some chores I needed to do. When James got home he sat in the garden to clean his boots and he sorted out his kit and put it in the washing machine and put it on. I had taught James the settings for all the kitchen equipment including the washing machine, the oven, the dishwasher and the microwave. I call it life skills. I have also spoken to him about using his money wisely, budgeting and saving. We have also discussed how to get the best deals with utilities and things like mobile phones contracts etc. When James does move on I want him to be prepared for the real world. Obviously for younger placements this would be a waste of time but anyone 15 plus really needs to be shown how to get on with their lives and not having to rely on others. I did the same with my own kids and it stood them in good stead when they went to University and left home.
