a wish....

I met & fell in love with my first child in care when I was only 17 yrs old myself.

17 years have past since that beautiful little girl moved on to her forever family. At the time I thought the grief of saying good bye was too much to bare doing over & over. Little did I know the impact of knowing & loving her would have on my life & the direction it would take.

I have been asked to explain how it is that we who take in " other peoples" children can do it, more times than I care to remember. This is usually asked in a way that suggest that we must have an unnatural way of preserving our hearts. When in fact it's exactly the opposite.

I believe that every single one of my children deserves to experience unconditional love. None of us has any control over the circumstances we are born into. I love each of my babies like they were my first. I grieve differently depending on the circumstances. When the time comes for them to return or to move on it, I'd be lying if I said it didn't hurt. If we are really fortunate, it ends with a happy ending & we get to stay connected in some way. In some cases they move on and that's that. No updates, No contact, no nothing !

Today I was given a gift......the gift of knowing.

A little boy with a piece of my heart has finally been given the gift of a forever family. I have been given the gift of knowing that he is & will forever have a place to call home. My heart is overflowing with joy for him. I am so thankful.