Single, Working Foster Parent

When I get a phone call from CHOR during lunch, asking for a favor, I cringe. Today my family worker called me and asked if I would talk to another potential foster parent from a satellite location who is single, working and considering doing foster care. There aren’t too many crazies like me out there, so I’m sure my name pretty quickly swam to the top of the list. I agreed to talk to this woman, but now I’m thinking, “Good god, what will I say?!” I mean, is it possible to be a single, working foster parent? I suppose that depends on your definition of possible. Anything is possible, right? It’s possible there are alien life forms streaking towards Earth as we speak. It’s possible I could buy a winning lottery ticket. It is totally possible, just not very likely. So, is it possible to be a single, working foster parent? Yes, it is possible. But, it is HARD. It’s worth it, but it is hard. If coupled foster parents have to be diligent, organized and on schedule, a single foster parent has to be that and more. Just as being a single parent is hard because you are always on, so is being a single foster parent hard for those same reasons. Often times I find myself legitimately asking friends and family if I am crazy, if the decisions I made or am making are sound just because I don’t have that live-in sounding board. And having a support system (which I at one time thought I had in spades only to discover the truth in some friends/family’s tepid support when I really, really needed it), is a necessity, especially as you get started. I suppose these are the things I will try to convey to the new prospect.