$$$

I spoke to Wilma this afternoon, and she assured me that my check for November was cut today, so I should get it in a few days. Sabrina was with me for about a third of the month, though she was with her dad for a reasonably fair chunk of that time, and the amount of the check for a third of the month covers, I think, all of the clothes I've bought for her, the toys we bought once she came to live with me, and the crazy food items that I wouldn't have bought for myself (you know, like milk). And, I think, today's Christmas shopping.

For December, I will get the full amount, even though Sabrina is with her dad until the end of the month and she only has been eating (for the most part) food that her aunt has sent her back to me with. I am very grateful to live in a jurisdiction that has reasonable reimbursement/payment rates, but the past month certainly makes it seem like I could be doing this for the money. (Which, I hope it is clear, I'm not.) But while I don't have a job, it is good that I am able to use the board payment in part to cover, in part, my rent, so that I don't have to move out of my 2 bedroom apartment and stop being a foster parent.