Justice was calling because they had a six year old boy (they didn't know his name yet) with nowhere to go. He was actually in a foster home through Neighbor to Family, a different agency, but had spent the last week in the hospital due to what they believed to be a reaction to his medication.
His foster home is that of a single mom who has him, his sister and a 9 month old baby, so unsure if his "erratic" behavior was truly at an end, they weren't comfortable sending him back. Unable to find a respite home for him at the last minute on a Friday afternoon they had reached out to other agencies and Justice had immediately thought of us.
When I hung up the phone I honestly wished he hadn't. I so very much wanted a quiet morning at home with just my boys, possibly some time alone on the greenway or watching HGTV, and a simple, sweet Christmas celebration at mom's. I didn't want a second six year old in the house whom we'd never met and who was suffering from undefined "erratic" behavior.
But Jason and I have agreed to make these decisions together unless there is a clear reason we can't say yes -- such as a trip or house guests or something...and there wasn't, so I called to give him the little information I knew then had to hang up almost immediately to help a parent.
When I finally called Jason back, he said what he should say, "well, it's not what I was hoping to do this weekend, but there's really no reason for us to say no."
So we said yes. And A arrived about two hours later -- following a very depressing call from a DSS worker (so glad we went with Bair!), but a much more loving call from his caseworker (anyone interested in sibling groups should check out Neighbor to Family!).
When he arrived we found out they weren't completely convinced his behavior (nonverbal responses, growling, moaning and believing he was covered in bugs) was due to the medication, because he had only been in foster care since December 1st-- so his foster mom barely knew hit Saturday, December 5th when he started stripping off his clothes in Kohl's. There assumption was that his biological parents hadn't been giving him his ADHD medication regularly, so when his foster mom started to do so, the dramatic change had brought on this response, but until it was completely out of his system, they couldn't be sure.
I was scared. There had been no signs of actual violence, but this was so unknown. Overall, Friday evening was uneventful, though. The most alarming part was when we realized that this poor six year old boy is already missing most of his teeth -- not due to losing them for adult teeth, but because of poor dental hygiene -- and that underneath his two week old clothes, he has the body of a refugee...we assume due to malnourishment.
We were a bit taken aback when he didn't want to wear his new Minion jammies, for fear of bugs, but he was more than happy to borrow some of Charlie's Olaf jammies, and promptly fell into a deep sleep.
Saturday was considerably more eventful, but not in a bad way. A and Charlie spent most of the day alternating between the lego table and the backyard -- sometimes playing together, more often apart. They did nearly come to blows mid afternoon, and A broke into a clear tantrum when Jason was trying to talk to him, but after beautiful patience, Jason was able to get a high five from him.
Amazingly (to the parents of a non-napper), during his 5 minutes of "consequence" time in his room, A fell into a very deep sleep. Jason was finally able to wake him up about 90 minutes later, for a fun evening of cookie decorating and Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas, but I have never known a child to sleep so hard.
Unfortunately, I let the events of the day cloud my mind and I forgot his medication last night. I know this can throw any child into a talespin, but to have done so to a child just adjusting to a new medication was completely negligent.
God has been very merciful, though, and A woke up bright-eyed and cheerful today. He's been joyful and talkative and hungry since 7:00 this morning the way a six year old boy should be -- as I type this, he, Jason, Charlie and George have a dog pile in the middle of the floor and shrieks abound all around.
A did fall into another very deep sleep during church today, but rallied right after. I honestly wonder if these naps are a coping mechanism that his life has forced him to develop in stressful situations -- he was quite intimidated being in a different church with different people, music and all -- but that is for the experts to determine.
This afternoon A joined us for our small Christmas at mom's and it was a lego and sugar filled extravaganza. Mom and I had snuck out yesterday to get him a few small gifts, which seemed to be perfect fits all around. In fact, he loved the Thor lego set so much (he'd told us he has a dog named Thor) that he offered Charlie the comic book that came with it as a gift. Jason and I almost teared up.
Such a lesson to me. God's plans for our weekend were so much better than my own. Thankfully, Jason is a better listener than I am sometimes.
Many are the plans in the mind of a man,
but it is the purposes of the Lord that will stand.
but it is the purposes of the Lord that will stand.
(Proverbs 19:21)
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