Introducing ...

A new girl, age 18, no internet pseudonym yet. Will be with us until graduating high school, maybe longer. Enjoys following me around, snooping through my purse, and rifling through the mail . Doesn't have a drivers license and doesn't seem to have a freaking clue about the real world. This is a first as our other teenagers all came to us with DL's in hand begging to drive. No boyfriend either which is also a first. Previous teens came with at least one actual date, if not multiple ones. She saw a boy at the ballgame the other night, didn't even meet him, just saw him across the court and fell into a crazy-land obsession. It's creepy. Seems to be more on a 13 or 14 year old level instead of an 18 year old's level. Very sheltered and misinformed.

She comes to us via a series of disruptions. The Fundamentalist Family* kept her two siblings, one younger and one older. Seems the siblings would argue and she wouldn't apologize so they said one more time and you're out. She was there for a year. Before that she was in a group home and before that she was with a foster parent for about a month. Before that she was with her sister's grandparents until they allegedly did some inappropriate touching. Before that was with biomom and stints with her friends, once going into foster care briefly. Most recently, after The Fundamentalist Family kicked her to the curb, she lived for two whole weeks with a woman who was taking GPS classes. By the time the woman was graduating she had already decided her 80 year old mother suddenly needed her and she couldn't foster any longer. For those weeks The New Girl didn't go to school at all. She came from a block schedule and didn't want to go to the only school locally that is also on block, so they were supposed to be signing up for correspondence classes but didn't get around to it. That whole placement sounds sketchy.

I've spent two days already this week trying to get her into a school, any school, she must go to school damnit! Problem number one is that her former school is refusing to send her transcripts. Problem number two is that her SW is on maternity leave and so several SWs are picking up different parts of the case which means stuff is falling through the cracks. Problem number three is that she makes impeccable grades but can't pass the Graduation Exam which means we don't know what she is really capable of handling. Can she do online classes on a block schedule while attending a local school? What if they get too hard or fast paced and she fails, then she can't graduate. Why does she make As but can't pass a basic exam?

I can't take another day of her here at home with me. She is glued to my side 24/7 and I am not exaggerating at all. I go to the bathroom just to get away from her and she follows me and stands outside the door talking. If I go to change BabyBoy's dirty diaper, I assume he and I are alone in the room until I turn around and almost bump into her she is standing so close behind me. It's unnerving.

The big D word has been bouncing around in my mind. Maybe it's because I'm sick with the flu and therefore short tempered or rather more short tempered than normal, but today I'm thinking about disrupting. Typing that word out feels so dirty and I know that I won't do it but good gosh she has got to go somewhere during the day. Out of all 8 placements, this one fits our family the least.

Don't worry, she isn't going anywhere. Just have to find ways to alleviate the stress and get her into school and teach her boundaries and other stuff.

*The Fundamentalist Family makes Jerry Falwell and Billy Graham look like a couple of tame pussycats. They are completely out of touch with the reality of the world. To them Obama is a radical Muslim and Russia is threatening to turn off all our electricity and water with a bomb. Girls don't need the right to vote, work, or own property, they need a man to take care of them. Only Christian doctors tell the truth and birth control will make you sick and kill you.

Top Ten Signs You're a Fundamentalist Christian