I mentioned that we have two foster boys, brothers aged 10 and 12 who have become part of our family over the last 10 months. Being a caregiver is certainly not all romantic good deeds. But I thought I'd share my "settling" technique:
Day 1: Everyone sitting around the dinner table - slightly uncomfortable.
Problem: Things are frosty and the ice needs to be broken. It's quite possible that the boys have never sat at a dinner table before and they need to become familiar with the etiquette required for such a situation.
Solution: Angela - the big-hearted caregiver extraordinaire - finishes meal and releases her best possible burp (actually, it wasn't that impressive but it sufficed for the situation), does a victory dance and announces, "I won!"
From that moment the competition was on and the after meal burp has become tradition - not that my own children will participate. They were mortified from the onset. Anyway, this has become a serious competition with rules such as, the participant must be at the table, touching the table cloth in order to qualify. I'll bet you were surprised just now when I mentioned that we have a table cloth. New Zealanders are very sophisticated you know. It's navy blue and plastic with melty bits and encrusted food but it is a tablecloth.
Now about the farts...I have a funny fart story. I'm pretty sure that EVERYONE has a funny fart story because farts are funny! If there's anyone who thinks that God doesn't have a sense of humour then they should ponder why he made us with a fart-function. I don't think I'll tell my fart story just yet. You should get to know me a little better first...
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