Morning Everybody,

Thanks for the words of encouragement.

To Guest....yes, we realize that we are very, VERY lucky people....for a huge variety of reasons and not just Veronica. We are, indeed, extremely thankful. Concerning Veronica.....YES it is hard to let her go....so yeah, I *AM* going to whine about it. My head knows it is logical and makes sense but there's a lump in my throat, butterflies in my stomach and my heart is overwhelmed with sadness......if you could convince the rest of my body to join what my head is thinking....then go for it.....I'm not doing such a hot job of it.

Veronica really isn't a foster child....she's a little girl who started coming to us through the Fresh Air Fund Program. This program lines up inner city kids from New York who would never have the opportunity to travel or get out of the city to spend the summer with families who live in the country. An awesome program...we've had 5 kids over the years....some children return year after year. When Veronica came here for the first time, she was only 6 years old. She stayed for a few weeks and then returned to NYC. The next year she stayed longer...etc. That's the way the program works. Each summer when the kids leave, I spend some time trying to readjust to the quietness of the house and it's always hard. This year though, Veronica's mom called me at work and asked if I would take Veronica after Easter. I said sure. Then it was would I take her right before Easter....yep, that was fine too. Then it was, could you pick her up next weekend? ABSOLUTELY. Veronica's mother's reason for wanting Veronica to move out (while an older brother and younger sister are still living with Mom at home) was that Veronica wasn't doing well in school and she thought she had a chance to make a better life here. Sounds very noble and we thought highly of her. Three days ago, we were under the impression that Veronica would be gone for 2 weeks.....missing a day or two of school. I called her mom to confirm details of this trip and her mother said, "OH THANK GOD YOU CALLED!" She now wants Veronica to stay until almost the end of January....missing over 2 full weeks of school. We told her that and how she is doing poorly in one of her core subjects. Her mother's response...she laughed and told Veronica to do her work. Gee....what concern, eh? She calls about once a month.....I used to think it was financial hardship was the reason for that...but SHE HAS A CELL PHONE with UNLIMITED NIGHTS AND WEEKENDS!!!!!!!! She can call for FREE EVERYDAY!!!!!!!!!!!! When she sends things in the mail like health records....there is NEVER a note or a letter...and never anything for Veronica. There is no financial support here (no stipend or clothing allowance as many foster care programs allow....no insurance....we added her on our family insurance)....the apathy of this woman just kills me. She doesn't care about her all year long (I'm sure she does care...but we really have no way of seeing it) and now she wants to play Mommy over the holidays. Nice.

My one and only concilation (spelled wrong, I know) is that Veronica will be coming back..at least that's what her mother tells us. Anyway...I'm just blowing off steam. It really does help me to hear about other people who have cared for children who aren't there own and how they have dealt with it.

And Spaw...you have my admiration. Thanks for sharing with me.

Okay..time to get the little one up and ready to go.

Michelle