I'm Exhausted!
I think Katie would agree that this has been the most exhausting four days of our lives (at least since moving to Sharon!) Josh was here Saturday-Sunday. Turns out he grew up in Sharon and wanted to spend time with some old friends. So he'd take off on his bike for two hours at a time, broken up by meals or driving 35 minutes to/from work. Only a small argument about going to church and then we found out that he loves Chinese as much as Katie and I do ... so of course we took him to Main Moon after church for the buffet. He seemed to enjoy his time here.
Then Johnathan came on Sunday and was supposed to leave today (Tuesday), but I found out that his current foster parents are stuck in Canada so I have him for another night (which is great!) I think respiting is much more exhausting than providing semi-permanent foster care, simply because with a three-day stay, you want to focus on spoiling the kid, having fun, and not really worrying about a "structure" to the day. Plus, you're spending time getting to know the kid and trying to understand where he's coming from. For instance, John "needs" to sleep with cable TV (although I haven't budged on that one, just given him a radio) and with all of his lights on in the room. While I would hope to never get my kids into that habit, you don't know the WHY behind why he needs those things and, really, I think it's my job to provide them if it's reasonable. We've been on-the-go non-stop because he seems to need to be busy to keep his mind off of things in the past, so we're also both exhausted. Sunday's bedtime with midnight, last night's was probably around 10:30, and he was in bed a little after 9 tonight. On Sunday, there was NO way I could fall asleep until I knew he was asleep and, even then, I didn't sleep very well. Today however, I'm extremely tempted to just go to sleep and realize he'll come get me if he needs me. I guess that's normal. On Sunday, I wasn't really confident that he'd come get me if he was upset about something.
Anyways, you know what the worst part about this is? (Well, not really the worst, because the worst part is not getting to keep John here!) I hate that my parents have been on a cruise in Alaska this whole time and I've never been able to call them. They knew (but probably forgot) Josh was coming, but they never even heard about the three kids or John spending three days with me!
The newest news is that I'm going to try to visit HOME this weekend for my cousin's graduation party and then NEXT weekend, I'm respiting two girls (1st and 6th grades) named Serenity and Kiana (not sure on the spelling.) I think I'll start praying for that weekend now. :) I'm not sure how you entertain siblings (who fight) and who are so far apart in age. I'm not really sure what they'll enjoy doing together. We'll have to see about that.
That's my update-for-now. By the way, John told me yesterday that I was the best mother anyone could ever have. I didn't expect to be hearing THAT at this point in my life, but it's quite a blessing! :)
Then Johnathan came on Sunday and was supposed to leave today (Tuesday), but I found out that his current foster parents are stuck in Canada so I have him for another night (which is great!) I think respiting is much more exhausting than providing semi-permanent foster care, simply because with a three-day stay, you want to focus on spoiling the kid, having fun, and not really worrying about a "structure" to the day. Plus, you're spending time getting to know the kid and trying to understand where he's coming from. For instance, John "needs" to sleep with cable TV (although I haven't budged on that one, just given him a radio) and with all of his lights on in the room. While I would hope to never get my kids into that habit, you don't know the WHY behind why he needs those things and, really, I think it's my job to provide them if it's reasonable. We've been on-the-go non-stop because he seems to need to be busy to keep his mind off of things in the past, so we're also both exhausted. Sunday's bedtime with midnight, last night's was probably around 10:30, and he was in bed a little after 9 tonight. On Sunday, there was NO way I could fall asleep until I knew he was asleep and, even then, I didn't sleep very well. Today however, I'm extremely tempted to just go to sleep and realize he'll come get me if he needs me. I guess that's normal. On Sunday, I wasn't really confident that he'd come get me if he was upset about something.
Anyways, you know what the worst part about this is? (Well, not really the worst, because the worst part is not getting to keep John here!) I hate that my parents have been on a cruise in Alaska this whole time and I've never been able to call them. They knew (but probably forgot) Josh was coming, but they never even heard about the three kids or John spending three days with me!
The newest news is that I'm going to try to visit HOME this weekend for my cousin's graduation party and then NEXT weekend, I'm respiting two girls (1st and 6th grades) named Serenity and Kiana (not sure on the spelling.) I think I'll start praying for that weekend now. :) I'm not sure how you entertain siblings (who fight) and who are so far apart in age. I'm not really sure what they'll enjoy doing together. We'll have to see about that.
That's my update-for-now. By the way, John told me yesterday that I was the best mother anyone could ever have. I didn't expect to be hearing THAT at this point in my life, but it's quite a blessing! :)
posted by Unknown at 6:18 PM
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