If You Love Something, Set it Free . .

If you love something, set it free, if it comes back to you, its yours for keeps. Well we let Geraldine go and SHE'S BACK!!!!

Everyone is so happy, Little Geraldine is back with Elsie for the moment. When she was initially delivered to the social worker to be returned to her mother, it was under the instruction from the social worker that said that Elsie had to bring her back as she was going back to her mother (whom she had not seen for 2 years).

Strange as that seemed to Elsie, she obeyed the law, only to find out 10 days later that there was never any legal court documentation to this effect and that Geraldine is in fact still [according the courts] in her care, meaning that if anything happens to her, she is responsible.

On confirming this this morning, Frances, Elsie, Nadine (Elsie's daughter) and myself drove off to Villiersdorp to fetch her. We called the social worker to advise her we were on our way and she said she would in the meantime go and fetch Geraldine.

When we eventually got there, they were not back from the farm, so we waited [trying to remain calm and patient], then the rains started and suddenly the car pulled up and there was this little thing in blue lying on the social workers lap.

Elsie ran up to the car to greet her and the rest of us stood back just waving at her. You could see the initial look of confusion on her face and then that smile and her little arms went up and she jumped into Elsie's arms.

Of course, much tears and hugging and kissing later, she did the rounds and when she got to me, said 'ek wil swem' 'I want to swim' which is what she loves to do at our house. She then asked me 'waar's Chris' 'where is Chris'.

The poor little mite was very quite, as though her spirit had been squashed, when I said to her What's you name, she replied 'sussie', it took about 3 tries of reminding her to say Geraldine and you could see the light come on in her eyes as though to say 'oh yes, I remember saying that' and then came the smile and the talking.

She fell fast asleep on the way back in the car, but not before we had stopped off at PEP stores to buy her new clothes and we changed her there and then in the car, fed her some lunch and she fell fast asleep in Elsie's arms.

She has been gone 10 days, but in those 10 days, the clothes she went with have holes in them, she arrived with the shoes I had bought her on, but adult socks (she is 2 and half), which were wet. Her pyjama top was under her clothes and when we took off her wet socks and shoes, her feet were filthy, as in at least 2 days of dirt, which makes you wonder since it has been freezing for the last couple of days. I mean seriously cold, today was a mere 11 degrees.

James is so excited that she is back and already wants her here for the weekend, but it looks as though Ingrid might be the one to foster her. Ingrid seems quite keen on the idea and her friends are already saying they will help her financially, which is wonderful, Geraldine just deserves so much more in life.

Hopefully she is too young to have been scarred by all this backwards and forwards, she apparently got home to the safe house and was thrilled to see the other kids and then went for a bath. Elsie had to keep topping the bath up with hot water, she was so excited to be in the bath and didn't want to get out.

All in all she looks to be alright, just a little bit of a crushed spirit, but a few days back with her "sisters" and "brothers" and she will be back to all her nonsense and causing trouble.

Its amazing how many people want to help. One of my clients mothers was there when we arrived back and heard about the story, well she opened her purse and gave us R100 towards new clothes for Geraldine, some of Ingrid's and my client's have donated clothes, toys etc etc towards the safe house, they just have to stay in our area, there is so much goodness we can give them.

Now all we need is the house . . .