Text 18325, 56 rader
Skriven 2007-07-29 23:22:00 av JIM WELLER (1:123/140)
Ärende: Road trip - preamble
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The trip got delayed from Thursday night to Saturday afternoon as
there was both a calamity and a tragedy in the extended family, not
in my own family, but those of relatives of relatives.

My SIL Sandra's husband's sister, after being dry for years, went on
a week long drunken rampage and ended up being arrested for assault.
Social Services seized her 5 kids and dropped them off with Matthew
and Sandra as all the group homes were full and Matthew is the only
responsible, stable and decent one in his family. He and Sandra are
already raising 2 of his grandkids so they couldn't cope with 5
more in a small 3 bedroom home. An aunt of the women's boyfriend
took 2 the next day and my daughter Raine took the 2 youngest (she
knew them casually). Social Services will give her a small stipend
as a foster parent and they will be with her for at least three
months at which time the mother's fitness will be reviewed. I
haven't met them yet but Roslind and Raine describe the six year
old boy as cute, bright and well behaved. The four year old girl is
cute but somewhat developmentally delayed and difficult to handle
(she is probably FAS; there will be testing done soon). She just
inherited all the clothes that Neekha had outgrown and is delighted
with her new (nicer) wardrobe. Lexi is quite happy to have two more
kids in the house. She likes playing with the boy and is learning to
cope with the girl who tends to tease, hit and pinch her. When the
girl pulled her hair, Lexi hauled off and slugged her soundly, so
now there is a truce in place. But Lexi told me quietly and very,
very seriously that if she ever hurt Charlee she would hit her
again, twice, and twice as hard! Lexi is now teaching her table
manners, how to count and improving her vocabulary. (Remember that
Lexi is two and the other kid four!)

The other sad event was that one of Neekha's cousins drowned in a
boating accident; it took six days to find the body. Betty has
custody of Neekha for one week per year and it happened during her
week. She dragged Neekha to the river bank to watch the search and
rescue operations instead of staying home by the phone. I was
furious with her; that is just too traumatic for an 8 year old.
Thankfully she never saw the 6 day old corpse. When I talked to
Neekha on cell during the middle of this she said, "Mom is frantic
and crying a lot and Aunt Nikki started drinking again, instead of
being brave and taking care of the other cousins; I HAVE be here to
take care of them all." How sad is that? A couple of days later she
reported quietly that the funeral was a nice one and that it was all
over. I am continually amazed by her emotional strength and her
maturity. (Ray has engaged a counsellor for her for a few sessions
as a precaution but she seems to have gone through this ordeal
relatively unscathed.)


Cheers

YK Jim


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