Getting Ready

Four kids have bags packed and have their bags and sleeping bags in the van. This year I got smart and created a list of what they would need in their bag. I started with Anthony. We washed all his laundry and then I gave him the list so he could lay out what he needed. It worked really well because I didn't have to take the time to sort out his clothes and he could pack what he wanted. After he had it all laid out, I checked to make sure he had everything on the list and then we put it into his bag and put the bag right into the back of the van. I learned long ago that the bag has to be removed from site as soon as it's ready or inevitably, the child will want something out of it. Then I think the bag still contains everything they need and we get to the destination and realize that they've taken something out.

On Monday, we packed Anthony and Riley and yesterday we packed Taylor and Zeke. Today I'm getting all my stuff together. I've decided to take three of the kids to The Club so that I can run all the errands I need to fairly quickly and then be able to finish the stuff at home without having to referee the kids. Taylor is not happy! But she's the one who caused the most issues yesterday so I'm not backing down. She's going!

I'm a bit nervous about taking the boys to The Club because last time we were going out of town and I utilized The Club, Anthony got us investigated. He doesn't do well with transitions, and in case you haven't guessed, packing up to go out of town is a bigggggggg transition. It's usually when he struggles the most. Which is why I need him somewhere else while I get ready. Which is the worst possible time to have him somewhere else. Especially somewhere they don't understand his special needs. So it's a toss up as to whether or not he'll take offense to something someone did lately and tell some inexperienced staff member and they'll yank DSS into the picture again. But this time, I can just say screw you. Sorry about the language but if I was having this conversation in person, those are the exact words I would use. We wouldn't cooperate at all with any investigation! I would just create a media blitz the likes of which DSS has never seen before in South Dakota.

I have seen too many families be torn apart and the kids are never the same. It takes years to build up a child and a few moments to tear apart everything these families are trying to work toward. It's time we stopped pointing fingers about bad parenting and time we started giving parents help, support and tools to become the parents these kids need. And I'm not talking about bio parents who have made really bad choices, I'm talking about adoptive parents who open their hearts and homes to these kids and are then accused of bad parenting when there is so much trauma that these kids already come with. I've had three families contact me about the same adoptive issues and they are so scared of DSS that they just try to do anything they want and try to survive the attack. But the kids end up with more severe emotional trauma and families end up torn apart. I'm tired of it and I'm tired of the kids ending up with no families because most people won't even take them in and those that do end up on the receiving end of accusations. End of rant. For today.

Did I mention we're going camping? :)
.