Spoke with Barbara

Barbara and I touched base this morning. We have a schedule for a good-bye meeting. 2:00 on Tuesday the 29th at Kinship House (where he has therapy). Anthony and I will meet with him first, then Davan will join us so she can say good-bye, too. Max will have been told by Barbara and A (his therapist) the day before.

His case worker will come get him on Wednesday. I don't know when, but she'll come by and get his stuff from us that day, as well.

I've been working on some of his packing. I've got most of his clothes packed and have been working on making sure I get all of his laundry done. There are still the toys to pack, but it won't take long. It's a sad process, though, and hard to spend too much time on it at once.

I'll have to decide which of his paper things (school work, drawing and such) to keep for him and which to recycle. We've already set aside some. Some of his art work will stay on our wall in the toy room where we display anything the kids want to. Some, though, he'll want, like a "Book of Me" he did in kindergarten before he moved in.

I'll want to have it all done before going to visit Chris next week, rather than having it hang over my head to do when I get back.

The good-byes will be difficult. While he didn't have what was a very healthy attachment to us, he did have an attachment. I don't like being the cause of more suffering for him. It'll be harder on Anthony and Davan than me, though, because they are both more conflicted about the disruption, I think. Neither wants him back, but both are doing some grieving.

Meanwhile, I feel like I'm coming down with a cold. Bummer. I'm thinking of putting in some time in Max's room and then laying down with a book for the afternoon. Maybe I'll send Anthony out to pick up some take out, even. That sounds luxurious and lovely.