strange corners of the blogosphere

I'm easily distracted at the best of times. So I often find myself hitting the "Next Blog>>" button up at the top of the page there, just for kicks. You are instantly transported into someone else's world. Sometimes it's devastingly mundane, or in a foreign language, or some kind of weird advertising site, sure. I remember Lou saying she always seems to hit the right-wing fundamentalist cheerleader types! But every now and again you strike gold.

I just stumbled across a woman who described herself as a "52 year old happily single mother of thirty-nine". I was sure it was a typo or something. But I scanned through a couple of her recent entries and, yup, it seems like she's an adoptive parent and does a lot of long-term fostering. There is one post in particular you should check out, Drugs. She's writing with such honesty and despair about the emotional/psychological state that the kids are in when they get to her, after being in 'care'.

Sergi blew his stack tonight when I walked off from a pending altercation with Jose. "Boy, what is WRONG with you?" Sergi bellowed.

"Let it go Sergi." I knew neither of us would get anywhere with Jose when he acts like that, a boulder would give more response and twice the animation.

...I'm finding, I'm hearing from many mothers how much tougher the kids are now coming out of foster care into adoption and I totally agree. The lack of empathy, little conscience development and an inordinate anger level all combine for some heartless children it seems at time. Is it the meth? Crack?

Am I actually longing, out loud, for the days of marijuana and heroin affected children versus today's vicious drugs of choice?

My perspective is becoming skewed after decades of this.

So amazing getting to have a first-person perspective of a situation like that, so far removed from my own. And yet the issues she's touching on are so relevant to NZ's society at the moment. The infiltration of drugs, the P epidemic that our media is so excited about, has far reaching and deep seated consequences. It's people like her that are really on the front line.

Also, I am very nosey and like getting to read people's diaries. Speshly famous people's. Even those famous for being famous. Here is Nicole Ritchie denying she was even dating that guy she supposedly just broke up with (it'll probably be in NZ Woman's Day in like six weeks) and here is Cory Kennedy, muse of Cobrasnake, whaa-ing on about people wearing tee-shirts with her name on.