Trippin' With the Baby
One of the most difficult and saddest issues for a foster family to deal with is what to do about vacations. Do you take the foster child or do you leave him behind, typically in the care of another foster family that does respite rather than long term care?
Every January, the MoC family goes on its annual family vacation. We used to go skiing but for 4 of the last 5 years we have been going to Israel. This is our plan again, IYH, this year.
The two times that we had Fosterboy full time, the decision was wrenching but easy. We all needed a break. Badly. Very badly. Not just the kids but MHW and me. We needed to get away from Fosterboy and recharge our batteries as a family. Try explaining to a five year old boy that you are all going away but he is going to stay at a stranger's house. Try explaining that to a nine year old boy.
The issue has come up again now that we are caring for the baby. The issue now is a bit different. The baby is not hard at all in the same way Fosterboy was hard. The baby is easy and we all love to be around her. WE can't bear the thought of leaving her with perfect strangers.
We all know that bringing an 8 month old baby to Israel is not the simplest thing in the world. Just the thought of the flight is enough to make you cringe. And, for sure, it is bound to crimp our style. Nevertheless, there is a unanimous family consensus to bring her.
Ah, but that is where things get complicated. We cannot take the baby without biological parental permission. This is not always so pashut (simple). Getting parental permission can be an art form and I will write about this some other time.
BH, the baby's parents consented yesterday. Now we need to scramble to get her a passport and an infant ticket and get all the papers that we will need to prove our guardianship. Let the fun begin.
One of the most difficult and saddest issues for a foster family to deal with is what to do about vacations. Do you take the foster child or do you leave him behind, typically in the care of another foster family that does respite rather than long term care?
Every January, the MoC family goes on its annual family vacation. We used to go skiing but for 4 of the last 5 years we have been going to Israel. This is our plan again, IYH, this year.
The two times that we had Fosterboy full time, the decision was wrenching but easy. We all needed a break. Badly. Very badly. Not just the kids but MHW and me. We needed to get away from Fosterboy and recharge our batteries as a family. Try explaining to a five year old boy that you are all going away but he is going to stay at a stranger's house. Try explaining that to a nine year old boy.
The issue has come up again now that we are caring for the baby. The issue now is a bit different. The baby is not hard at all in the same way Fosterboy was hard. The baby is easy and we all love to be around her. WE can't bear the thought of leaving her with perfect strangers.
We all know that bringing an 8 month old baby to Israel is not the simplest thing in the world. Just the thought of the flight is enough to make you cringe. And, for sure, it is bound to crimp our style. Nevertheless, there is a unanimous family consensus to bring her.
Ah, but that is where things get complicated. We cannot take the baby without biological parental permission. This is not always so pashut (simple). Getting parental permission can be an art form and I will write about this some other time.
BH, the baby's parents consented yesterday. Now we need to scramble to get her a passport and an infant ticket and get all the papers that we will need to prove our guardianship. Let the fun begin.
Labels: Fostering
posted by MoChassid @ 2:16 PM
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