How many of us knew exactly what we were getting into when we signed up to be foster parents? I would venture to guess the only ones are those who were former foster children themselves. Maybe some of the case managers that also foster, but even then, I would venture to guess that the experience of actually doing it differs from working inside the system in a different capacity.Ā
Even if you read all the blogs, do all the research andĀ āknowā what you are getting into (as I and many others did), nothing prepares you for the flood of conflicting emotions - the love and fierce protectiveness you feel for kids in your care coupled with the helplessness to actually protect them in the way you want, the overwhelming fear that kids could be moved at a moments notice and that sometimes you are really the only one looking out for the kids best interest but you are powerless to do anything about it. And the grief and the anger when a child you have cared for for a long time is suddenly, or not suddenly, removed. Its like ripping off a bandaid versus slowly pealing it off for 10 days or longer. Wanting to get the incredible pain over with so that all of you can move on is not a matter of being inconvenienced, it is a matter of grief.Ā
Yes, we signed up for it. But that is a lot of emotion to hold, especially when you are doing it alone, and most of us here use this forum to process this very difficult journey, and the intense emotions that you are forced to hold spill out on the screen.Ā Venting on here about the fucked up system is what allows many of us to turn around and face the kids and continue on and be the best parent, the best foster parent we can be.Ā
baratheonpilled
tangentwithtanner
dededos
andulkaphoto
discoholicmusic
origamiaround
vaporwave
pixelskylines
kaledo-art
