"You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry"

This past week in Foster/Adopt Land has truly tested my patience.  The Invisible CPS Caseworker has gone and driven me crazy to the point of nearly giving her her very own "label" on the blog.  No longer simply "frustrated," I am in full-blown "Mama Bear Mode," and she needs to beware the wrath of Bipolar Girl.

"Don't make me angry.  You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."

It started last Wednesday when I went to pick Monkey up from daycare.  He has weekly visits with his parents every Wednesday morning from 8:30-9:30.  When I saw his daily log, I thought the note telling what time he was away had to be a mistake.  8:55-12:30?!?  No one told me he was going to be away for nearly four hours!  Thankfully I had a bottle and formula in his diaper bag, but no baby food!  Had I known he was going to have that long of a visit, I would have put everything that he needed in his bag along with a note detailing his eating schedule.  They know nothing about his regular schedule.  As is was, he arrived back at the daycare over an hour after his usual "lunch" time, fussy, and apparently drenched in sweat!  He barely ate the rest of the day, and he was super fussy.  It took a half an hour to get him to fall asleep that night (as opposed to his usual 5 minutes). 

Ordinarily, something like this would irritate me to the point of sending a nice little email asking if she could please let me know ahead of time if there are any changes to Monkey's visitation schedule.  This time, however, I was seething!  You see...  This isn't the first time something like this has happened.  I had already sent the nice email the week that they didn't show up on his regular visitation day and came and took him three days later without informing me of the change.  Clearly, she ignored my request.  So when it happened again last week, I was not a happy camper.

After I finally got Monkey to sleep, I called the Invisible CPS Caseworker.  She did not answer.  This in itself made me mad because she has on more than one occassion told me stories about looking at her caller ID and thinking, "I just don't want to deal with them right now," and letting it go to voicemail.  Probably not the best story to tell someone when you plan on letting their calls go to voicemail...  So I sat my infuriated butt down at the computer and gave her a piece of my mind.

Hi Invisible CPS Caseworker,

What's the matter with you???  Did you not comprehend my simple request the last time you thought it would be a good idea to take the 5-month-old on a visit without his bottle, diapers, food, or schedule?  All I asked was that you send me a simple email or text message ahead of time to let me know if his visits are changing at all so I can make sure his needs are met while he's away.  I didn't think it was that confusing!  You rode the short bus when you were little, didn't you?  That's the only explanation that I can think of that might help me understand your complete lack of comprehension of my simple request.  Let me use small words and type slowly this time so you get it.  C A L L  M E  I F  H I S  V I S I T S  C H A N G E.

Sincerely,

Ticked Off Bipolar Mama Bear

After reading what I had written, I thought perhaps I needed to cool down a little before making contact with the Invisible One.  Probably not the best and brightest idea to tell your child's caseworker that she's missing half a brain, even if indirectly.  So rather than hitting "Send," I emailed Nice Lady and vented away instead.  I freaking love Nice Lady!  She is always on my side because she's totally in love with Monkey too.  She offered to contact the Invisible CPS Caseworker and voice our concerns, only in a nice, politically-correct kind of way.  ;-)

(Stay tuned for Part Two...  Because Part One is getting rather long, and I have oh-so-much-more to say...  Soooo much more...  That woman is something else, and I plan to tell all!  :-)