By Jill Goldsmith, Foster Care Adoptive Parent
When I was in my early 40’s, I spent some time as a Big-Sister to a 12-year-old girl who lived with a foster family. Her foster family had 4 other foster kids. What I learned from being her Big Sister and from spending time with the other kids in the home, is that these kids were just regular kids trying to live their lives. Sometimes the myth of “foster kids” might stop someone from wanting to enter an adoptive situation. Once I was involved with this family, there was nothing mythical about them. Shortly thereafter, we started our home study process, which led to meeting our daughters, two siblings who had been in foster care for 4 years. Our lives were forever changed.
As soon as we met the girls we knew they were meant for us. I always said that these children were the only ones I was meant to parent, and the only way I was meant to become a Mom. They confounded us from the beginning. They were funny, loving, happy, and most of all, they were and are, kind.