Foster parenting? Yes we are! It is such a joy to see the look of love on a child's face that you are taking care of. When they call you mom or dad, or just out of the blue say those three words.. I love you!.. Then when you are told that you will probably get to adopt them and you get all excited and hopes are built. Only to be torn down by the courts. The judge has no clue what is really going on behind closed doors. Now I know that your goal is to reunify the children with parents, but when the case worker tells you that they will be yours, then you get the news with one phone call. They get to go home for a few hours to visit with no supervision. WHAT?! For the past 5 months they have had visits that were for one hour and always supervised. Wow, the surge of disappointment, anger at whoever said they could visit that long with no supervision, and then you have some children that are small enough to not have a clue who these people are that they are visiting with. You sit around wondering if you will have an angry child who will be mad at you for taking them away from the parents and siblings. You are on an emotional roller coaster. All the highs of having happiness with children, then the lows of not knowing how they will react to you. Then when you see them, they are excited to see you and tell you that you were missed. All your worries disappear until the next visit. I just wanted to let you know that if you are a foster parent and your reading this, hang in there and keep up the good work! I know what you are feeling and I just wanted you to know that you are special! If you'd like to leave a comment, feel free to!... Marlene
