A sea of paper in every room, noise level up ten octaves and barely-open presents tossed on the floor. I’m still in my dressing room looking like an extra from the Gremlins and my husband is sat with five boxes of chocolates, a little overwhelmed at where to begin. Must be Christmas day.
This year we are greatly reduced in numbers as this is the first year without my mum and no one really wants to make a big thing of celebrating this year.
I knew I would probably over compensate in presents due to my lack of Christmas cheer and knowing that the boy’s parents had not sent gifts this year for different reasons. The trouble with overcompensating is watching all the children actually getting tired of opening presents and having a little melt down over not knowing what to play with first.
Christmas is also a time when emotions run high for our fostered children . ‘Will Santa know where I live?’ ‘Is it ok to be happy when mummy/ daddy are not?’ ‘Why did mummy/ daddy not buy me anything?’ ‘ Why did mummy/ daddy buy me something I don’t like?’ ‘ I wish mummy/ daddy were here too.’ Or ‘I hope my parents don’t see me being happy here.’ My boys cried a lot over the Christmas break, usually they did not know why they were crying.
So what else comes hand in hand with Christmas? Oh yes panto season ‘Oh yes it does.’ The boys, my daughter and my husband are on stage for the next week, strutting their stuff and trying to remember the script. My husband has left the lime light for the chorus this year so he can support the boy’s first ever show. Littlest boy is taking everything in his stride and filling the whole stage with his presence where oldest boy is a little apprehensive that people will laugh at him. Trouble is panto is full of laughs so the pressure is on to help him distinguish being laughed at to the audience laughing with him.
Here’s a picture of my middle daughter as Lolly in this year’s Dick Whittington.
So training this month. I was lucky enough to attend the ‘Play therapy’ course. I spent a whole day playing and meeting some lovely people from all parts of Dorset children’s team. I definitely recommend this course as it links in very well with PACE and helps with communication and interaction difficulties that children in care may face.
I also attended the meeting to discuss future plans for Dorset fostering services with Theresa. Still early days but we had nearly two hours of putting our points and needs across to hopefully strengthen the care service for all our fostered children. So I must away to find missing bits of costume and try and get the ridiculously sticky stage make off two little boy’s faces.
Please come and support us – Dick Whittington at the Mowlem theatre Friday 17 Jan uary 7.30pm and Saturday 18 2pm and 7pm. All money raised goes straight back into the Swanage drama pot to fund another fabulous show and to keep theatre in Purbeck going.
