Here's to hoping that something is better than nothing...

You will have to take my word for it, but before my neighbors had their two children temporarily removed, from their custody there were loads of toys all over their yard. I used to accidentally run over a plastic action figure or rubber ball from time to time if it was left in my driveway.

In a matter of days, however, all evidence that an individual (or two) under the age of four lived next door is now gone. It's bizarre. Trevor was the first one to notice this phenomenon. I find it disconcerting.

Chase and Jane Doe are also keeping weird hours since the kids left. I'll hear them screaming at each other in the driveway at four or five in the morning as they are trying to get their car started. They will still be gone when I leave for the gym, but will be home by the time I return around eight. What could they possibly be doing? My guess: Nothing good.

I also keep thinking about the last time I saw Jet about a week and a half ago. Bert and I were preparing for our camping trip in my garage (sorting through food, counting gallons of water, making sure we had enough sleeping bags and tents for everyone, etc.) when Chase and Jet came outside. Chase started neurotically locking and relocking his car, and Jet announced that he could see “the bad lady” in my garage. The “bad lady” apparently being Bert.

But Jet didn’t stop there, though. When I walked back to Bert’s car to get grab the rest of the water, I clearly heard Jet say, “Look, Dad! I see the n*gg*r! I see the n*gg*r!”

I stopped short and just stared them. Oh, how I wanted to give them both a piece of my mind! But what could I do? Jet isn’t even four years old yet. Such language has to be learned somewhere, and I’m guessing it isn't at day care.

Chase’s constant locking and unlocking of the car door suggested that he was going through one of his hyper-paranoid phases. I knew yelling at him would get me nowhere (Chase confessed to my handyman two weeks ago that he was a bi-polar heroine addict. That coupled with the whole Chinese Throwing Star incident makes me a little nervous for my own safety) but it was still hard to suppress my rage.

I know foster care isn’t a picnic, but it has to be better than living with the alternative, right? I just hope the state doesn’t give them back. If they do, I will have totally lost faith in the entire system.