In 2011, with a six month old at home, my husband and I got the crazy idea to began the process of becoming foster parents. Well, fast forward to March 2012, when we received our first placement, Nathan who was 3 months old at the time. We instantly became a family of four with two children under 10 months old, talk about Irish twins! We experienced what it was like to be a foster parent for sixteen months before our adoption ceremony. We have taken a couple of kids for short term respite throughout the years but Nate was our only long term placement. I always said I couldn’t be a foster parent because I’d want to keep them all, I guess that’s true. 🙂 With that being said, I am absolutely not an expert at foster parenting but wanted to give you all a little insight on the toll foster parenting can take on a mom’s heart.
“Families don’t have to match. You don’t have to look like someone else to love them.” -Leigh Anne Tuohy”
When fostering a child, you want to love them with every ounce of your being because as a mom that is what society has taught you. The problem is no matter how much you love a child, the fear of the unknown is always in the back of your mind. The child that has been living in your home and that you have been raising as your own could be returned to their biological parents at any moment.
People become foster parents for the children. These children are innocent and have been forced into a system by no fault of their own. Because many foster children have had no stability, and don’t understand what a “normal” family looks like, you may have to deal with troubled emotions. These kids just need to be loved and that is exactly what foster parents do! They love, The END!
I admire each and everyone who is a foster parent and feel as though we all share an unspoken bond. Next time you see a foster care parent, tell them thank you not only because it’s Foster Care Awareness Month, but because they are parenting and loving on someone elses child everyday.
