New potatoes for breakfast, steamed with just salt and pepper, melting in one’s mouth, having just been dug up from the earth. Relishing a spinach, lettuce, radish and onion salad for lunch, munching on strawberries fresh as I work, wishing tomatoes produced when lettuce did, but our lettuce will soon bolt in the oppressive heat, leaving me to make salads with piles of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and baby squash.
We have a team of IFI counselors in place yet again for Jonathan, who seems to cycle in and out of variously unstable phases, dark moods where he lashes out violently, only to eventually recede into just annoying behaviors, which I greatly prefer.
They sent us Mikey again, an unlikely name for a giant of a guy with longtime OTP experience and deep insight into troubled youth. I was very glad when he called to set up a time to come over and start working here, having once earned his stripes in the trenches with Paloma and Jonathan.
Dr. Mandy yesterday afternoon was praising Mr. P for continued improvements, indeed it’s been remarkable, yet I’m always wary as he’s cyclical as well. JoJo surprisingly opened up to her easily, later telling me how much he liked her. Her rapport with kids is wonderful and so nonthreatening to them emotionally.
We’d had a Dr. C psychiatric appointment this week as well, making me remember those days when I still worked in the school system, while trying to maintain a staggeringly complex load of mental health appointments for various children in dire need of professional help. Thank God for retirement, although this was a benefit I’d not fully considered years ago when once only dreaming of free time.
I’m a bit discouraged though, to think back upon the many programs, resources, teams, therapies, counseling and other plans put into place, trying to help children make good choices, and now looking back, wondering if it had done even one iota of any good? Several then severely troubled children have improved, giving me hope, while others seem as hardened as ever.
I just don’t have the answers, I just keep trying, I dunno, everything?
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2 comments:
I'm out of leave AGAIN this school year and week have 7 WEEKS of school to go here and I will miss unpaid at least 2 more for just 3... just 3 children adopted from foster care... 2 of whom have such mild issues (but then the one who has been in RTC, psy stays, juvie, etc... another story...)
I ran into an old foster parent buddy of mine and actually walked away from the conversation both pumped with pride and very sad .... first my girls by the accounts he shared of so many of the foster then adopted kids in our old group 12 years ago when we did parties for the local public foster children and respite care... not many that he knew about including his own are doing well.. (we ran into each other in the therapy office)
one boy had killed himself... others in juvie, out of home placements; run away; alternative schools...
not many good reports at all... again parents having to put up with other children getting harmed; etc...
I have one graduating community college heading to an university next year... another with mild depression going to a small private christian school because public didn't work (that is such a nice way to put that) for her...
the third in self contained special ed in class much lower than he needs to be in but because of his severe emotional problems the best I could get the city to provide...
still don't have any great answer for the problem ... but out of his mouth came what I have been saying for years... instead of blaming us the adoptive parents trying to help... why don't they just try and help these kids ?
I was soooo moved or something that I even called the other adoption sub worker up and gave a report...
I thought about yout comment all day long and into the night. "not many were doing good" just about says it all. I, too know tons of situations in which that's the case...
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