General News
15 May, 2023
Feeling the love, thanks for asking
Mother’s Day was celebrated by many families over the weekend, including Chrisine Lacey - a local mum who goes the extra mile for those needing it the most. Ms Lacey is a one of a dwindling number of foster parents and currently has three...
Mother’s Day was celebrated by many families over the weekend, including Chrisine Lacey - a local mum who goes the extra mile for those needing it the most.
Ms Lacey is a one of a dwindling number of foster parents and currently has three rambunctious boys in her care, who took the opportunity to spoil her rotten.
“Mother’s Day was fantastic,” she said.
“I had a wonderful day - breakfast in bed, I got spoiled … a really relaxing day … I had tea cooked for me.
“I really felt the love.”
Ms Lacey has been a foster parent for over seven years, after working as a respite, short-term and emergency option for children needing a place to go, but said the demand for short- and long-term placements and carers was rising.
“They’re desperate for carers, it is so rewarding, even to be a respite carer,” she said.
“It is such a huge thing for us to be able to take a day or a weekend off, for me, it is such a huge thing to have that little break.
“I don’t know how much people really know about it - you don’t have to commit to be a full-time carer, there are other options for people to help out.”
Ms Lacey likened respite care to a trip to a grandparent’s house for the boys.
“I love my boys, they’re great boys, but sometimes you just want to do something without kids and I don’t have any family around here,” she said.
“(The boys) love their respite carers, they are amazing people - they make a weekend totally for the boys, all the fun stuff, and the boys come back asking ‘when are we going next?’”
Ms Lacey’s Scott Street store Thanks for Asking is going into its seventh year with no sign of slowing down.
What started off as a little outlet for her sewing and handiwork has evolved into a popular gift shop which often sees products sell out within days.
“It’s developed very slowly; started off very small and we have grown,” she said.
“I heard people walking past saying ‘oh there are these lambs in the- oh they’re gone!’,” she said about the range of Mother’s Day flowery animal statuettes.
“I’m always trying to find different things, and I am a sucker for the pretty things.”