deja vu.

I don’t know how many people remember the young man that was with us briefly over the summer. The same young man that took off out a window. I have thought about him often since then. 

Earlier this month a text bulletin was sent looking for immediate placement, again, for this same young man. Let’s call him Track Star. Anyway, I don’t typically take boys, and as of right that moment, (currently still true), I didn’t even have an open room for him. I sent a text response back to licensing staff, and let them know that I could offer up my couch for the night. I’d much rather have a kiddo on my couch than sleeping in an office someplace. 

Turns out they found a placement. Not necessarily a great fit, but a safe spot that had an actual bed open. Track star ended up in a house with four toddlers. Sounds like a fun spot for a teenage boy. Shocker, he was not very happy and ended up taking a break for the day from that placement by hanging out in my livingroom, at his request. (At least someone likes me.)

So today I get a call, that he again needs a break and is asking to come sit with me. I’m cool with that and at this point, I’m pretty happy to spend time with just about anyone that appreciates me. We are halfway through the holiday break now, so my fan club membership roster is thinning. (I managed to cheese off both Sassy Britches and Lady in Red today, almost at exactly the same time.) No idea when Track Star is coming, but there is no shortage of people here to entertain him. 

As I make dinner, I get a text that Track Star is headed my way. Then I get a call to tell me there is a change of plans and he’s coming first thing tomorrow. Sure. No problem. Phone rings again… he’s on his way, oh, and he wants to stay, AND would I be willing to put a bed in my livingroom? Ummm. No. I can’t even fold my towels outside of one particular way. There is absolutely zero possibility that I have the mental capacity for a bed in my livingroom. Zero. 

It is New Years Eve, around 6pm, and ideally I need a twin size bed to magically appear. While the state has made the placement rules much more flexible, and I could put two genders in one room, I’m not an idiot. Thankfully, the girls around here are usually game for anything and have been in life predicaments themselves, so they appreciate “making it happen” in an emergency. Two girls helped me move a mattress into another room and Track Star happily hopped into bed and was asleep before I even made it to shutting the light off. 

Tomorrow we are going to have to revisit sleeping arrangements, depending on how long this is going to last. But for tonight, he’s in a safe spot, and hopefully not planning on running off. I told him if he felt like he needed a break to just tell me and to feel free to use the front door verses a window! As everyone knows, I’m well versed in AWOL policy, and I can certainly respect a fight or flight trauma response. Run when you need to, but please let’s agree on a way to do that as safely as possible. Ideally, without the need for police. After a certain point in the evening, I switch to pajama mode, and I’m not sure the police appreciate my *super casual* attire. As a side note, when you see a woman take off her bra without removing her shirt, it makes a lot more sense as to why women should rule to world. I’m just saying. 

I did use up my last emergency placement pillow when I made up a fresh bed for Track Star tonight. I don’t know why this is a thing, but placements destroy pillows. I mean a lot of things get destroyed, but we seem to lose an awful lot of pillows. I’ve had a bunch of people ask how they can help foster families without actually being foster parents. Well, apparently you can have the Amazon fairy drop me some pillows.