Foster Care: Introduction to the Roller Coaster

I've heard many times that foster care is a roller coaster requires a lot of flexibility. This is something that we learned last week.

On Thursday morning I got a call from a CPS worker asking if I had room for a baby. A little bit later she brought over one of the sweetest little boys I've cared for, just a little over a year old. I instantly loved him. She explained that she didn't know how long I would care for him as she had to find out a lot of things, but that she would be back on Friday to check on him once more before the weekend began. So when D. got home from preschool he was thrilled to have a foster child waiting for him! They played so extremely well together as this kid had no malice and was easily dissuaded from unwanted things with a gentle "No." When L. got home from work there were two children to love on, enjoy during dinner, bring with us to a meeting, etc. We all loved having him. That evening I ran to the grocery store and spent $25 on diapers and wipes to be sure that we were stocked well enough until we could go to town in a week.

The next morning around 8:30am the social worker called to see how baby boy was doing and to let me know that she had gotten a hold of his auntie who was happy and thrilled to take him in, and she would be there around mid-day.

Well.

Thursday - adjust to having baby. Friday - adjust to not having baby. I was surprised at how flexible and willing to "go with the flow" that we felt. Of course I loved the boy and it was wonderful having him here, but I was so happy that he had family willing and able to take him in. And at least I had time to get the him fed, dressed, and wash his laundry to send with him!

Thus is the roller coaster of foster care. I keep hearing people say that they couldn't do it because they don't want to love a child and then lose them. I can understand this, but I personally would rather have that day to love them than nothing. Plus to D., it was like a really long play date! And really, looking beyond just my feelings, baby boy needed a home even if it was *just* for two days and a night. And I'm so happy we could provide that for him.