You've spent 36 hours which accumulates to every Thursday for 3 months for 3 hours in Foster Parent Pre-service classes (including Valentine's Day)....what else would we do with our Thursday nights?!?!
Just when you are finished with a huge stack of paperwork you're home study social worker or fostering agency dumps more on you!
You're fingerprinted and background checked and they warn you they will dig up any dirt you may be hiding as if you're a felon but gladly you oblige and tell them you're not lying and they can do all the digging they want.
You spot the best $10 value pack deal on diapers (the same black Friday deal they do) and a great deal on wipies in bulk so you buy one in every size because who knows what size you'll need! Forget that foster parent initiation of running to a 24-hour Walmart at 3 a.m. when you get a call with your first placement....we got this one covered!
Though you have never had a child, you have become so keen on prices of baby/children items that you go through ads shouting out to your husband "Oh what a great deal these are!".
You rummage through any sale and clearance baby/children items no matter what store you're in hoping to score amazing deals and accumulate more for your loot for future use. Having never had a child before you are working from the ground up for supplies with no baby shower or anything, you're on your own!
Everyone around you is very supportive of your efforts yet think you are completely loony crazy all in the same thought!
You have tornado and fire evacuation plans hanging in clear sight in your kitchen for all to see. Most friends that visit question your sanity on why you would have them hanging when it's only you and your husband and dogs in your house. Upon approval you will even get them laminated to look all official!
Important phone numbers are hanging out on your refrigerator. Of course you already selected a pediatrician who will take foster care Medicaid as well as a dentist for unsaid child(ren) that will arrive. No you don't sound crazy calling and when they ask you what age child(ren) you have and you reply "None yet but we may have a child(ren) between newborn and 8" and the receptionist on the other side goes silent with a pause then says "Um how are you going to suddenly have an 8 year old? How may you have more than one suddenly?" in a suspicious tone. Perhaps she was already dialing on another line the police department to turn in suspected child abductors who know's!
At the vets when you ask for a copy of your dogs shot records for your home study because you will be fostering they immediately ask, "Oh how nice, what breed?" and your response is "Children!".
You have a whole nursery and crib already set up and if you're lucky like us we have the family crib that my siblings and I all used! You even purchase those cool plastic protecting things for the crib so you're soon to be foster child won't eat their way out of it!
Your social worker checks to make sure it's not a drop sided crib, the crib rails aren't too close or too far apart as well as checks the height of the crib mattress to ensure it is not too tall or too short (all with a ruler) according to the state rules.
Your social worker even checks each window to make sure you have screens with no holes in them and that the windows can be successfully opened.
You are openly separated and each interrogated by your social worker about every single aspect of you and your spouses past and present life. They do this to check for inconsistences, look for red flags, as well as question your sanity and intentions.
You buy a nice convertible car seat that can hold any age child they may call with from 4 lbs. to 110 lbs., you've so got this covered!
Safety rails adorn you're top bunk of the bunk bed
You have a big stash of different bottles that family gives you that they are done or don't need right now (this is only one small bag and not a true indicator of the amount of bottles we have happily acquired).
A lightweight Grace stroller found in the store reduced from $160 to $48.99 becomes your best found bragging-worth deal yet!
You have a dry erase board on the back of the child(ren)'s bedroom door ready to become a welcome to our house board.
Safety cabinet locks are on all your cabinets which you forget you have installed each time you try to open a cabinet and it shuts right back on you or worst yet catches your finger!
Upon completion of your pre-service class hours they give you the great trophy of a coffee cup knowing you will be needing them and they will become your lifeline!
Every outlet throughout your house that is not being currently used has safety plugs in them.
You're nightstand is no longer embellished with Hunger Games books but rather books about parenting children from hard places and yes they are very difficult and near impossible to read at times.
You begin to hoard Play-Doh and supplies as well as small toys that you know will come in handy once you have a placement.
All your medicines are stored in one place in a medicine cabinet above reach of any child that may pass through your home per the state rules.
Your love of garage sales is about to take a turn when you know you can now scavenge all the kids items....garage season is right on the brink of starting, let the fun begin!
You purposely place reminders throughout your home that you know will get you through each day on this life adventure and those that you already have take on a new meaning. Specifically the scripture from Ecclesiastes about there being a time for everything suddenly takes on a new light as you embark on this journey.
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