Lama's log

Well, I finally buckled and took in a couple of guys who are currently residing on my sofa bed. So far so good and lets hope it lasts. I was pretty nervous about it because any other time I've taken people in I haven't had kids to think about and contend with all the add on risks.

The interesting thing is people's reaction to it. With a couple of notable exceptions people have not been very positive about this at all. Some of it I get easily. There is a concern for me and mine and a worry that this could end in tears. There is also something more than this. A kind of hesitant shock and a recoiling from me taking them in.

I keep going over this thinking about why this is and a constant wondering of if this is a bit crazy. I can't get away from it being essentially right and I keep thinking about Dan who took in a homeless bloke when I first arrived in Wakefield. It ended 6 weeks later by the homeless guy leaving and taking all his electrical goods. What was great about this was Dan's reaction. There was no disillusionment or disappointment. A few weeks later he was hosting an ex con and a while after that he was informally fostering a really demanding teenager. Doing good stuff is not good because of the rewards but just because it's the right thing. You make yourself vulnerable hope for the best, but pain may come.

I am bracing myself for the worst and hoping either that someone can explain the reaction and therefore why I'm off kilter or hoping I can deal with the hard stuff in a Dan sort of way.

There was a brilliant moment over breakfast this morning when my kids couldn't get their heads round why we had blokes in our front room. Sam finally clicked that the only other option was for them to sleep outside and then said, 'In that case they better stay with us then'