Fostering Blog – Fosterman.
With James (name changed) back to school it was time to get back into some kind of meaningful routine again. We had had a busy weekend, James had two football matches, the won both, and we generally made ourselves busy.
So it was nice to have the house to myself for a few hours without an over excited teenager in the house. So I went for a nice walk, did some chores at home, went to the Post Office, got the car washed and then went to the Supermarket. I also took the opportunity to talk to my Supervising Social Worker (SSW) and to James’ Social Worker.
Apparently Mum is out of prison in two weeks and has indicated that she wants to see James on a more regular basis. She is of the opinion that I should take him over to her and that she wants contact just with him and nobody else, not me or a Contact Worker.
I stated that I wasn’t happy with that, based on past experiences, and the Social Worker stated that she had already told Mum that somebody else would be in the room with them. Mum had said that she didn’t want me in the room and claimed that I was turning James against her for my own benefit.
I had experienced this situation before and wasn’t unduly concerned. I understand that it must be difficult for Mum to see her son being provided with things that she couldn’t afford to provide.
James got home and did the small amount of homework he had been set. He asked what I had been doing and I pretty much told him with the exception of the conversation I had had with his Social Worker. I didn’t think it was worth telling him about something that may not happen.
We had dinner and watched football, just for a change, before James said that he was tired and was going have an early night. The following day, after James had left, I tool myself off to the gym. I was only allowed to do 50 minutes in there but it was ‘enjoyable’. I knew I would ache and I was right. I came home, had a shower, and sat in the garden, in the sunshine, and had lunch and a coffee.
I then got a call, from James’ Social Worker, to say that Mum had been granted a place at a rehab centre, courtesy of the Prison Service. There would be a two week gap between Mum being released and the start of her rehab. She had stated that she wanted James back by the summer. I agreed with the Social Worker that we wouldn’t mention anything to James due to the possibility of things not going to plan.
It was a difficult dilemma as James was already talking about the summer holidays and the fact that Paige’s parents had mentioned about taking James with them on holiday. But I said nothing and we would have to see how things panned out.
I’ve been a Foster Carer long enough to know that things can change overnight and to expect the unexpected.
Fosterman – A Simply Fostering Blogging Foster Carer.
