Right now, we are in one of those stretches to where all the days pretty much blend together, and (without serious thought) I find it hard to tell the difference between what I did just two days ago and what I did 2 weeks ago. It's all a blur. Without a calendar and a 10 minute conversation with Venesa, I honestly can't tell you if it's been 3 weeks or 5 or 6... but sometime during the month of September, our first foster placement found her way back to our home. And we are happy to have her. The situation is still temporary, and I think we're closing in on what will be her second departure, but her stay this time has been decisively longer than the first. The first time, we got away with holding our breath and effectively putting our lives on hold while she was here. But this time around, there was no hitting the pause button. Life went on as normal, and she lost her visitor status as soon as she hit the door.
It still amazes me how quickly we adapt to having one more kid around. Sometimes it seems too easy. I can't figure out if that's simply a product of this particular child (she fits right in) or if it's just a product of the pace of our life (crazy plus one still equals crazy). For now I'm rolling with my theory that going from one child to two is life-changing... going from two to three is noticeable... and three to four... well, at some point, it's all pretty much feels the same. Don't get me wrong... the levels of bickering, whining, and fighting; and the number of arguments, band-aids, baths, and potty breaks have all increased to the nth degree.. along with the amount of time that the time-out chair is occupied, and the number of times we hear the word sorry. It also doesn't help that our foster child, who is somewhere between Naomi and Jasmine in age, is much closer to the former in mentality but has the diction of the latter. That has quickly led to the realization that a two-year-old with a four-year-old's vocabulary will test your patience like no other. But we manage. And we're thankful. And we count it all joy... Well, by "we"... I guess I mean everyone except Naomi, who clearly has it out for t-girl as she defends her position as the baby of the family. They lock horns at least 2 dozen times a day, and it usually ends with a bout of who can say "mine" the loudest. But that's what midday naps are for: a reprieve from cranky babies who would otherwise drive you up the wall.
Anyhow, somewhere between t-girl's first and second stay, we also volunteered for DSS calls a foster care respite. I find it funny that when you look up "respite" in the dictionary it reads, a short period of rest or relief from something difficult or unpleasant. I think "difficult or unpleasant" might be a stretch in most cases, but otherwise that's exactly what a respite is; a chance for a long-term foster family to catch a break from their foster child for 24 to 48 hours as needed for various reasons. It may be due to previously planned travel, a family event that's inappropriate for the foster child, or... honestly just a good old fashioned break and maybe time to reconnect with your other children to see how the placement is affecting them. Our respite involved 2 more girls, ages 3 and 1 (I'll call them a-girl and baby-t-girl)... and I think it led to Justin giving up all hope of a boy ever walking though our doors (poor guy). In all, it went well. Jasmine went bananas over having a baby in the house and she was over the top with her helpfulness. For whatever reason, Naomi didn't seem to feel threatened by either of them. Maybe that had everything to do with how temporary it was (24 hours), or the fact that she thought baby-t-girl was her own personal, real life baby doll toy. After all, she did get along fine with t-girl during her first stay and also during her first week back. But at some point I think it clicked to Naomi that sufficient time had passed and "this girl is still here" ... and that's when the territorial dispute began.
With that said, wish us luck today because the revolving door has spun again. A-girl and baby-t-girl's foster parents are hitting the road this weekend, and we've volunteered for a 4 day respite. It's funny that we're not only getting another set of repeat customers; but that they happen to be coming back while our other foster repeat is still here. Five girls. One boy. Did I already say, poor Justin? Oh yeah... poor us, too. I also find it funny that, with these two concurrent placements, we will officially surpass the capacity of the mini-van; which means that we'll need both cars if we plan to go anywhere this weekend. With that in mind, I'm envisioning a lot of time at home in our immediate future. You know where to reach us.
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