WHEW. Okay, literally, I've been trying to sit down and write this blog for the past twenty minutes! But it's a wee bit hard to do when you have a rambuncous kitten clawing at your right arm for attention, while keeping the left draped over a crib to settle a two-month old!
And now, ladies and gentlemen, my two new foster daughters:
One year old Soraiah (I call her "Sora" for short because the first part of her name is the same as my favorite video game character, lol)---
And two month old Myliah:
Now, as far as people going, "WOW, you became a foster mother real quick; no background/home check, etc, etc, etc", I'm going to go ahead and start from the beginning, which is roughly two days ago.
As everyone knows, I received my CNA certification about two weeks ago. Since then, I've landed a great job, doing home health, and taking care of a client of mine from roughly 7-8pm, all the way until 7-8am the next day, and I've been enjoying it. Well, I kept telling myself, "I REEEEEAAALLLY need to go up to my school and update my resume so they can send it out to the LA registry, that way, when I move from the valley in a couple of weeks, the LA nursing registry already has my information.
I'd literally been putting that, as well as updating and printing my resume, AND going up to school, AND getting my hair done, AAAAAND going to the human resources office as well. So, I put it off for about three days, and then two days ago, I decided, "Okay, let's go."
And I'm glad I DID procrastinate for so long. Because my school, the aide office, my beauty supply shop, and Fed-Ex kinkos were literally all within a two block radius of one another, I went to the fed-ex, and then after I got my resume, headed over to the human resource department.
For those who have never been, or have never been in need of aide, it's where people can get food stamps, free healthcare, and free childcare, etc, etc, etc. I went up there because I had to drop off my healthcare paperwork, because I have no insurance unfortunately, lol.
While I was there, I noticed this man older than my own father (late fifties) struggling with his two daughters, and he had stopped to chat with another social worker there for a minute, but you could tell he was struggling to hold onto the one year old, and the two-year old in her carrier. I walk over and I ask him if he needs any help, and he just looks like he's about to cry lol. I told him I could watch the two girls while he went into his appointment. He thanked me over, and over, and over again, and gave me the biggest duffle bag.
It wasn't until I was actually close enough to SMELL the babies, once they were in my arms, that I figured something was kind of amiss. The bag, the girls, and yes, even the carrier, smelled strongly of urine. While he went into the social worker's office, my own caseworker came out (I love this woman), and she goes,
"YOU HAD KIDS?!?!"
And I laugh and tell her no and explain the situation, and then she nods, and explains that the man is homeless, and he has custody of his two daughters. To make a long story short, the man's "baby-mama" (who is white, and that accounts for why the girls are so fair-skinned and have clear blue eyes, and the father is black), a drug addict, who had lost all of her previous kids to their various daddies, or to the system, had taken off on him, and he'd gone to court and won custody for his girls. He was still living in Nevada at the time and had help from his own mother with the girls.
While I don't know why he even bothered moving to LA, to make a long story short, he couldn't get a job, and the only roof he had over his head, was a trailer. My social worker said she went with his own case worker (their field partners) to see the place, and the way she described it made my stomach turn, especially given it's in the Valley's version of "skid row"----so, homeless people everywhere, prostitution, drugs, etc.
After she finished explaining everything to me, I asked her to point me to the bathroom so I could go and change these girls. Both of them had horrible diaper rash, their fingernails had grown TOO long, and they had some much filth under their nails, and in their ears. It was pretty bad. The one year old warmed up to me after a few minutes, and the two-month old was all smiles and giggles and was just such a happy baby.
I changed them (the diaper bag was in total shambles), cleaned them up a bit, and went back out to the waiting area for the father. I continued talking with my social worker/case worker until he came out about an hour later, so needless to say, I was kind of exhausted, and I STILL needed to run some errands. He came out with his own caseworker, and she was explaining to him that he couldn't get any hotel vouchers (which is what they give the homeless who have children) until a couple of more weeks, and then, I haul off and say,
"I can take care of the babies if you need me to."
The social workers and the father look at me, and the rest, they say, is history. Well, not really. My social worker told me to come and have a talk with her and the other social worker, and given how I was already on good terms with her, had already submitted a background check (all for the healthcare/women's health care), and yadda yadda, asked me if I really wanted the responsibility, and she was kind of surprised because I'm only 24 and most twenty-four year olds aren't looking to become foster parents.
But without even thinking, I told her yes. She told me we were going to go up to the trailer where they were currently staying so I could see it for myself. So, me, the father, and my own caseworker went up to the trailer and IT WAS DISGUSTING.
I couldn't even imagine TWO CHILDREN having to live there. The trailer's generator doesn't work, so there's no heat, no pumbing, there were mice and roaches there, the place was trashed, and it was FREEZING COLD in there. And it was the size of a matchbox. And it was also filthy.
That's all it took. Screw all the other errands I had to run. I told the father (who was ALL FOR the idea) and my social worker that I wanted to take care of the kids for a couple of weeks because NO CHILD should have to live in such conditions, AND both of the girls had small colds. (And, at one point, yes, I was homeless myself but that's another story.)
I didn't care about the money, the stress, my job, or anything else. I wanted those kids to be SAFE. So, we all went back to the HR building, and sat down and talked with both case workers and the father. Of course becoming a foster parent is a process. Duh. But because they had all of my information, background check, and etc, all that was left was a home visit. But the father, who started crying, and saying things like, "God has blessed me!" and "Thank you God," and calling me an angel and everything....
I mean really, I couldn't help it. This man is older than MY father, trying to raise two daughters on his own in those conditions.
So, the father asked me if I could take the children that same night. I did, with the understanding that the caseworkers would just draw up the paperwork for temporary legal guardianship, and would make the home visit the next day. The father said all he needed was two weeks to go ahead and find some kind of job, get his living situation in order. So, I went back to the trailer with him, we hauled most (definitely not all) of the girls' bare necessities, and dropped them off at my place, along with the kids.
And that's basically where it all began. I set up the crib, and ALL of the clothes he gave me (because he had bagfuls that reeked of urine, including the two month old's carseat/carrier because that's where the two-month old SLEPT in the trailer, because there was no room for the crib), and was in business. The first night was very interesting. My boyfriend his sister and brother were excited, and his mum, also a nurse, were HUUUUGE helps.
(OH! BUT IF THAT WASN'T ENOUGH, I wasn't the only one who came home with two strays:
Swear to God, my roommate came home with THREE KITTENS he'd gotten from a friend of his. I was like..."REALLY?!?!?! THIS IS TOO CRAZY! NOW WE HAVE TWO BABIES AND THREE KITTENS!!!!!!!" I was basically hysterical with happiness.)
Seriously, though, I have so much respect for single mothers. There was no way I would have been able to set up, clean up, and do everything else. The sister's friend was over, and she gave the girls baths while I washed the clothes, and ran back and forth trying to straighten up everything. The girls knocked out about twelve that night, and I was so exhausted and emotional, it didn't even HIT me until I laid down WHAT I HAD DONE.
I had agreed to watch this strange man's children, as my own, for two weeks. I'm not a mother, so A LOT of this is so new to me. But I'm happy to do it. Yesterday, both caseworkers came over and talked to me, my boyfriend, his mother, and the brother and sister. (THANK GOD my other degenerate roommates weren't here.)
They explained that I would be watching them for two weeks only, and that all trips to the doctors and emergencies (GOD FORBID) were covered by the state, as was formula for the two-month old. I assured them my boyfriend and I, along with help from his mom, could take care of solid food for the one-year old no problem. They checked to make sure everything was fine, locks on windows, cutlery properly stored, etc, etc, and then that was it. They got my roommates' information, such as phone number and full names, but I don't know if they did a background check, since the babies are only staying for a few weeks.
Aaaaand...yeah. That's basically been it. Again, I have a LOT of respect for parents in general. I mean, really, one baby is hard, I understand, but two is even more difficult. Super early mornings, constant changing, watching them, etc, etc. But I like it.
And you know what, I feel happy about it too. Because, I wouldn't have been able to just leave them there like that. So, I really, really hope the dad gets his things together, because it's obvious he WANTS to be a father, otheriwse, he could have just up and left, and given how hard he's trying, I feel like things will work out.
So....yeah. I'm a foster mum for two weeks. It's taking some serious getting used to, but I'm pretty happy about it. (Not happy about these kittens though. My allergies are KILLING me, but I'm a sap for cute and helpless little animals, so...yeah, we're gonna find a home from them too lol.)
BUT, it's been an eventful couple of days! But I am loving it.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, my two new foster daughters:
One year old Soraiah (I call her "Sora" for short because the first part of her name is the same as my favorite video game character, lol)---
And two month old Myliah:
Now, as far as people going, "WOW, you became a foster mother real quick; no background/home check, etc, etc, etc", I'm going to go ahead and start from the beginning, which is roughly two days ago.
As everyone knows, I received my CNA certification about two weeks ago. Since then, I've landed a great job, doing home health, and taking care of a client of mine from roughly 7-8pm, all the way until 7-8am the next day, and I've been enjoying it. Well, I kept telling myself, "I REEEEEAAALLLY need to go up to my school and update my resume so they can send it out to the LA registry, that way, when I move from the valley in a couple of weeks, the LA nursing registry already has my information.
I'd literally been putting that, as well as updating and printing my resume, AND going up to school, AND getting my hair done, AAAAAND going to the human resources office as well. So, I put it off for about three days, and then two days ago, I decided, "Okay, let's go."
And I'm glad I DID procrastinate for so long. Because my school, the aide office, my beauty supply shop, and Fed-Ex kinkos were literally all within a two block radius of one another, I went to the fed-ex, and then after I got my resume, headed over to the human resource department.
For those who have never been, or have never been in need of aide, it's where people can get food stamps, free healthcare, and free childcare, etc, etc, etc. I went up there because I had to drop off my healthcare paperwork, because I have no insurance unfortunately, lol.
While I was there, I noticed this man older than my own father (late fifties) struggling with his two daughters, and he had stopped to chat with another social worker there for a minute, but you could tell he was struggling to hold onto the one year old, and the two-year old in her carrier. I walk over and I ask him if he needs any help, and he just looks like he's about to cry lol. I told him I could watch the two girls while he went into his appointment. He thanked me over, and over, and over again, and gave me the biggest duffle bag.
It wasn't until I was actually close enough to SMELL the babies, once they were in my arms, that I figured something was kind of amiss. The bag, the girls, and yes, even the carrier, smelled strongly of urine. While he went into the social worker's office, my own caseworker came out (I love this woman), and she goes,
"YOU HAD KIDS?!?!"
And I laugh and tell her no and explain the situation, and then she nods, and explains that the man is homeless, and he has custody of his two daughters. To make a long story short, the man's "baby-mama" (who is white, and that accounts for why the girls are so fair-skinned and have clear blue eyes, and the father is black), a drug addict, who had lost all of her previous kids to their various daddies, or to the system, had taken off on him, and he'd gone to court and won custody for his girls. He was still living in Nevada at the time and had help from his own mother with the girls.
While I don't know why he even bothered moving to LA, to make a long story short, he couldn't get a job, and the only roof he had over his head, was a trailer. My social worker said she went with his own case worker (their field partners) to see the place, and the way she described it made my stomach turn, especially given it's in the Valley's version of "skid row"----so, homeless people everywhere, prostitution, drugs, etc.
After she finished explaining everything to me, I asked her to point me to the bathroom so I could go and change these girls. Both of them had horrible diaper rash, their fingernails had grown TOO long, and they had some much filth under their nails, and in their ears. It was pretty bad. The one year old warmed up to me after a few minutes, and the two-month old was all smiles and giggles and was just such a happy baby.
I changed them (the diaper bag was in total shambles), cleaned them up a bit, and went back out to the waiting area for the father. I continued talking with my social worker/case worker until he came out about an hour later, so needless to say, I was kind of exhausted, and I STILL needed to run some errands. He came out with his own caseworker, and she was explaining to him that he couldn't get any hotel vouchers (which is what they give the homeless who have children) until a couple of more weeks, and then, I haul off and say,
"I can take care of the babies if you need me to."
The social workers and the father look at me, and the rest, they say, is history. Well, not really. My social worker told me to come and have a talk with her and the other social worker, and given how I was already on good terms with her, had already submitted a background check (all for the healthcare/women's health care), and yadda yadda, asked me if I really wanted the responsibility, and she was kind of surprised because I'm only 24 and most twenty-four year olds aren't looking to become foster parents.
But without even thinking, I told her yes. She told me we were going to go up to the trailer where they were currently staying so I could see it for myself. So, me, the father, and my own caseworker went up to the trailer and IT WAS DISGUSTING.
I couldn't even imagine TWO CHILDREN having to live there. The trailer's generator doesn't work, so there's no heat, no pumbing, there were mice and roaches there, the place was trashed, and it was FREEZING COLD in there. And it was the size of a matchbox. And it was also filthy.
That's all it took. Screw all the other errands I had to run. I told the father (who was ALL FOR the idea) and my social worker that I wanted to take care of the kids for a couple of weeks because NO CHILD should have to live in such conditions, AND both of the girls had small colds. (And, at one point, yes, I was homeless myself but that's another story.)
I didn't care about the money, the stress, my job, or anything else. I wanted those kids to be SAFE. So, we all went back to the HR building, and sat down and talked with both case workers and the father. Of course becoming a foster parent is a process. Duh. But because they had all of my information, background check, and etc, all that was left was a home visit. But the father, who started crying, and saying things like, "God has blessed me!" and "Thank you God," and calling me an angel and everything....
I mean really, I couldn't help it. This man is older than MY father, trying to raise two daughters on his own in those conditions.
So, the father asked me if I could take the children that same night. I did, with the understanding that the caseworkers would just draw up the paperwork for temporary legal guardianship, and would make the home visit the next day. The father said all he needed was two weeks to go ahead and find some kind of job, get his living situation in order. So, I went back to the trailer with him, we hauled most (definitely not all) of the girls' bare necessities, and dropped them off at my place, along with the kids.
And that's basically where it all began. I set up the crib, and ALL of the clothes he gave me (because he had bagfuls that reeked of urine, including the two month old's carseat/carrier because that's where the two-month old SLEPT in the trailer, because there was no room for the crib), and was in business. The first night was very interesting. My boyfriend his sister and brother were excited, and his mum, also a nurse, were HUUUUGE helps.
(OH! BUT IF THAT WASN'T ENOUGH, I wasn't the only one who came home with two strays:
Swear to God, my roommate came home with THREE KITTENS he'd gotten from a friend of his. I was like..."REALLY?!?!?! THIS IS TOO CRAZY! NOW WE HAVE TWO BABIES AND THREE KITTENS!!!!!!!" I was basically hysterical with happiness.)
Seriously, though, I have so much respect for single mothers. There was no way I would have been able to set up, clean up, and do everything else. The sister's friend was over, and she gave the girls baths while I washed the clothes, and ran back and forth trying to straighten up everything. The girls knocked out about twelve that night, and I was so exhausted and emotional, it didn't even HIT me until I laid down WHAT I HAD DONE.
I had agreed to watch this strange man's children, as my own, for two weeks. I'm not a mother, so A LOT of this is so new to me. But I'm happy to do it. Yesterday, both caseworkers came over and talked to me, my boyfriend, his mother, and the brother and sister. (THANK GOD my other degenerate roommates weren't here.)
They explained that I would be watching them for two weeks only, and that all trips to the doctors and emergencies (GOD FORBID) were covered by the state, as was formula for the two-month old. I assured them my boyfriend and I, along with help from his mom, could take care of solid food for the one-year old no problem. They checked to make sure everything was fine, locks on windows, cutlery properly stored, etc, etc, and then that was it. They got my roommates' information, such as phone number and full names, but I don't know if they did a background check, since the babies are only staying for a few weeks.
Aaaaand...yeah. That's basically been it. Again, I have a LOT of respect for parents in general. I mean, really, one baby is hard, I understand, but two is even more difficult. Super early mornings, constant changing, watching them, etc, etc. But I like it.
And you know what, I feel happy about it too. Because, I wouldn't have been able to just leave them there like that. So, I really, really hope the dad gets his things together, because it's obvious he WANTS to be a father, otheriwse, he could have just up and left, and given how hard he's trying, I feel like things will work out.
So....yeah. I'm a foster mum for two weeks. It's taking some serious getting used to, but I'm pretty happy about it. (Not happy about these kittens though. My allergies are KILLING me, but I'm a sap for cute and helpless little animals, so...yeah, we're gonna find a home from them too lol.)
BUT, it's been an eventful couple of days! But I am loving it.
VIEW 25 of 60 COMMENTS
rollnrob:
harlough:
That was a beautiful thing for you to do, Kurosune; so selfless