I spoke to my girls that evening over dinner, hoping they'd be fine with a new child coming to stay with us. "Girls, I need to speak to you." They both looked at me with expectant eyes. "Sadie, you know why you're living with me, don't you?"
"Yes," she replied in her child-like manner. "My mummy and daddy can't look after me."
I smiled. "That's right. Tomorrow, a young girl is going to come here. Her mummy can't look after her at the moment."
"I thought we'd agreed on no more fostering until January, mum?" Madison said, outraged.
"I know, and I'm sorry. Clara, the girl who is coming to us, is only 11 years old and she's in a teenage residential unit. She desperately needs a place to call home. Please, Madison, I'm really sorry."
Madison gave a sympathetic look, "okay. You'll be making it up to me though!" I smiled at my daughters ability to get the most from everything. "So she's 11?"
"Yes, 11 years old. Her name is Clara."
"What's her middle name?" Sadie asked. Sadie had been learning about middle names in school. Despite only being there a few weeks, it was clear she'd been picking things up. It was amazing to hear the things she said and compare them to the little girl who'd come to stay with us 9 months ago! She was like a completely different child!
"Her full name is Clara Jayne Rose."
"What school does she go to?" Sadie continued to ask.
"At the moment, Clara doesn't go to school, but she will be starting school. Hopefully at my school, Waterloo Road."
"And Madison's school. Carley, will she play with me?"
"I'd imagine so," I answered. "But Sadie, do you remember when you first came to stay?"
"Yes. I was a bit scared."
"That's right. It can be a bit scary and strange coming to live with somebody you don't know. Sometimes, when new children come to stay, they're scared, or angry. Sometimes they might cry, or shout, or say bad words." Sadie was hung on my every word. "Clara will need some time to adjust to her new home, so she might not want to play at first. I will have to spend a bit more time with Clara at first, I hope you understand."
Sadie nodded her head. "Can I have ice cream for pudding?"
The meal continued with a few more questions about Clara, and then friendly chatter continued. It was lovely to see my girls showing an interest in a new foster child, but also chatting amongst themselves, something Sadie would never have been able to achieve when she first came to me.
As I settled Sadie into bed that evening, she turned to me and said, "I think I'm going to like Clara." I smiled as I hugged her goodnight and left the room filled with confidence. I was going to make a huge difference to a child's life.