Being a waiting foster parent is weird.
You're in a holding pattern until you get the call.
While you wait, it's hard to make any definite plans for the future. It's hard to plan upcoming vacations because you aren't certain just how many people will be going. It's hard to plan holidays (Halloween costumes, Thanksgiving engagements, Christmas gifts) for the same reason. But even planning a week ahead can be challenging. When someone asks if you're free, the best you can say is, "as far as I know!" because things could change at any moment.
It's also difficult to explain to people what's going on. Well meaning people ask, "When will you guys have kids placed?" and we honestly don't have an answer. It could be in a couple hours, it could be a few more weeks. We don't have a due date like most expecting couples.
There's no way to completely prepare for a placement either - at least not really in our case. We could get one or two children, ages 0-5. And what a 0 year old needs is quite different from a 5 year old. We've kept everything from J, so we're prepared for a newborn as far as stuff is concerned. But clothes? Diapers? Highchair? Toys? Who knows!
It's mostly weird though because we don't get the call unless someone else screws up. Which is difficult. We're praying for our future (foster) children knowing full well that the only way they will come to our family is if their bio-parents make big mistakes, get caught, and there's no other family members who can/will take the kids. I don't want to pray for people to screw up. But I also really want more children to join our family.
So what do I do? What do we do while we wait?
I mostly pray for my future children that s/he will be strong. That s/he will know they're loved. That s/he will hold on to hope and joy.
And I try to stay busy. Craft projects. Trips to the park. Play-dates with friends.
All the while keeping my phone right next to me, turned up on the loudest ringer setting, and hope for the call to come.
It's weird.
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