Frankie and Miss E too!

I wrote back in October that I got to talk to the foster mom who now has Frankie. She actually got licensed with my agency so that she could parent Gary. However, she is the grandmother of the girl that Gary dated at one time and it was decided by the powers that be that that might be awkward. So they sent Gary to me, and quite independently they asked her to take Frankie.

He moved in with her in September. She lives in a very small town that has a moderate size high school. Frankie enrolled there and has been succeeding. I can't tell you what his grades are like, but he is coping there.

She typically does therapeutic level foster care and is a much better fit for Frankie than I was. I have a very laid back sort of parenting style. She has more structure. She also has horses and barn cats. Gary spent the day there and reports that though Frankie still seems really young for his age he was emotionally steady. He seemed happy.

A couple of the kids wanted to wrestle with Gary. He pinned them all very quickly. Even Frankie wanted to and Gary flipped him on his back. Gary said it took it with good humor.

So far it is the longest Frankie has been in a home and I am very happy it worked out.

The family is planning on moving back to Our Small Town, and Frankie will have to go to the local, bigger, scarier high school where he was emotionally overwhelmed back when he lived with me. He may be more successfully this time around. He will have had time in a traditional, if smaller, high school, and had time to bond with a highly skilled family.

I'm happy for him, and I am deeply grateful that there was a family out there that was right for him.

It is hard when a kid's needs are greater than your skills. It is tough when they leave and you don't know anything about where they land and if they are happy. One always fears that they will just bounce. Finding out that Frankie is in a family who is right for him is wonderful.

And today while we were all talking about people we had known, Brian mentioned that he has seen Miss E on the public bus. She was talking (I'm not sure if it was to him, or if Brian was eavesdropping) about the courses she is taking and the community college and her plans to work as a nurse. He reports that she seemed happier than any other time he has seen her.

Of course that is just a snap shot, but it is a good one.