It was apparent that she felt as at home with us as we did with her. I believe I held her in my arms for nearly a straight week. I only put her down when I went to bed at night. In the first few days I would sit her on the floor to play and she would flop over. She was eight months old so this behavior was concerning. We took her to the doctor to be sure she was OK. They told us that it was part of her recovery and she would get better. That was an understatement! She not only began to recover but she did it in warp speed. It seemed like every day she was learning new tricks. It was wonderful to watch how much determination she had to "catch up." By the time we took her to her 12 month neurological assessment she had not only "caught up" but was exceeding her age in many areas. It made me feel so blessed to have been given the opportunity to have this child in my home. We had a great big 1st birthday party for her. My aunts, uncles, cousins, mom, sister.....all came to celebrate her precious life. We all fell in love with this child. She became a member of our family just as each of us had only she came to us in a different way.
Every part about being her parent is delightful to me even though I had to turn back the clock 10 years to diapers, bottles, and waking in the night. The only difficulty in being a foster parent is the foster part not the parent part. I won't paint a rosy picture and tell you it is all a bowl of cherries. It is tough sometimes. Foster parents are the low man on the totem pole. No one listens to your opinion about the welfare of the child. You have to drop everything whenever the county says you have to take her for a visit or to the doctor. You have to take criticism from case workers, bio family, and whoever else wants to hand it out about your parenting. You may be accused of things you didn't do. You hand over control of your life in many ways to the county.
So why would anyone want to be a foster parent?
I can only say that I would do any part of it again for her. We have given and received so much love from her. Who could pass that up? She brought such joy and perspective into our home. There have been so many life lessons for my husband and I and so many teachable moments for our kids. She is a gift from God! We only hope that we have been able to offer her as much as she has given us.
Every part about being her parent is delightful to me even though I had to turn back the clock 10 years to diapers, bottles, and waking in the night. The only difficulty in being a foster parent is the foster part not the parent part. I won't paint a rosy picture and tell you it is all a bowl of cherries. It is tough sometimes. Foster parents are the low man on the totem pole. No one listens to your opinion about the welfare of the child. You have to drop everything whenever the county says you have to take her for a visit or to the doctor. You have to take criticism from case workers, bio family, and whoever else wants to hand it out about your parenting. You may be accused of things you didn't do. You hand over control of your life in many ways to the county.
So why would anyone want to be a foster parent?
I can only say that I would do any part of it again for her. We have given and received so much love from her. Who could pass that up? She brought such joy and perspective into our home. There have been so many life lessons for my husband and I and so many teachable moments for our kids. She is a gift from God! We only hope that we have been able to offer her as much as she has given us.
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