I have had an absolutely insane day. One of those days when I went from one phone line to the other, thankful that Kelly is here to answer the ATN line as I am beeping through calls on the other line.


Kelly and I spent most of the day at the Elms Resort, the location for our upcoming conference. We met another ATN staff member there, and Kelly and (the other) Nancy agreed I did OK in picking a nice place! We drove the hour back home and took pictures of the trainer riding Beth’s pony (to facilitate selling the pony) and then rushed home to feed five hungry dogs. And then … the slew of phone calls and emails began.


I spoke with the mom in California who has been posting on the Adoption.com board. She and her husband—first time foster parents—were placed with an 8-year-old boy with severe attachment issues. Apparently they were just assigned a new caseworker, who sized the situation up immediately. She spent twenty minutes in the boy’s room, came out and asked this mom, “Is this your first placement?” Mom said yes, and the caseworker said, “I’m so sorry!” Does it matter at all that these folks specifically requested that they not receive a child this damaged with such severe behaviors? (Like sly comments about cats that went missing three weeks ago ...)


I spoke with Stephanie who gave me the update on her trip to Illinois this week and her friend (that I know well) who was just evicted from her family home and is having all kinds of issues. I know the dynamics between this young woman and her family have not been good for awhile.


And then I spoke with Tommy as he discussed some issues in his life and some plans he is trying to formulate.


And of course, there was the phone call that Kelly took about the disrupting girl that I had connected with a receiving family, only apparently the transfer fell apart on the eve it was supposed to happen … last night. So now we start all over again.


And I spoke with Teresa, who mans our warm line, and we talked about the 13 year old girl just diagnosed with RAD after receiving therapy for about a decade, and the family in my county referred by a county mental health worker who is in need of services and support.


Throw in a few calls about the conference and a bazillion emails about all aspects of ATN business … and a few blogs I still need to write … and I am toast!


I guess there isn’t much likelihood I will be out of a job in the near future, is there? Paying or not paying … this is a full time job.


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