tales of joy and frustration
Listed are the posts for March 2010.
Samuel confessed yesterday that he got into trouble in school again, but he conveniently left out some of the more critical details—such as the fact that he threw a book at a teacher (do you notice a throwing theme?). Yeah, he kind of forgot that part in the retelling of events over dinner last night. [...]
Today I made arrangements with Samuel’s after school caretaker to stay a little later than usual so I could swing by the grocery store and pick up a few things on the way home. Sadly, after I spent nearly half an hour fighting my way through Austin traffic to arrive at the store, I realized [...]
Today I had the privilege of attending the adoption ceremony for a family that holds a very special place in my heart. This no-longer-foster mom and I became licensed at about the same time in the fall of 2007. Our pastor at church connected us as we were both single women about to embark on [...]
We’ve spent spring break visiting family and friends and having lots of fun. We took our first road trip and headed to Houston to visit my dad and attend the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. Samuel saw lots of animals, rode a mechanical bull, and managed to find the carnival rides that my parents always [...]
Calling today’s meeting a “permanency conference” is a misnomer in my opinion. Nothing ‘permanent’ can be decided at this point. It’s also a strange description to me because nothing in this life is truly permanent. We’re all in a temporary home right now, but Samuel’s is more temporary than others. All that aside, the meeting [...]
As I get to know Samuel better, I am beginning to understand him more. He is angry alright—angry about his lot in life. He’s pretty ticked off about what has happened to him. It makes him mad that he was put into foster care. He is angry at “the system” for doing this to him. [...]
When I was in 4th grade, a student injured herself on the bus ride home. Try as I might, I couldn’t get the bus driver to pay attention to her and stop the bus to use the first aid kit. I was outraged. The following day at school, I organized a protest against the bus [...]
Yesterday morning, I was notified that Samuel was missing from school. You can probably imagine my panicked state and the drama that unfolded as phone calls were made to Samuel’s caseworker, my foster agency, etc. We were about the call the police when he came wandering into the counselor’s office. What was first thought to [...]
When I was six, I wrote a letter to the “Police Chef” to complain about having to pay taxes. I then wrote to the mayor and eventually the president. Each time, I used the same argument about why I shouldn’t have to pay taxes—I needed to keep my money so I could buy things—like a [...]