Navigating Family Through a Life of Grace and Vulnerability.
Because sometimes, it isn’t.
I’m right there with you. I understand. I’ve been there. I get it. I’ll probably be there again next week.
I’ll be the first to say, sometimes motherhood isn’t enough. I miss the days of my career. Assigning my value was easier then, I was successful and could point to several things to prove it. I made to-do lists that were actually completed (I can’t even fathom).
…
Fostering.
Opening our homes up to a stranger.
Opening up our hearts to certain pain.
In 2014, in Oklahoma, the monthly average for children residing in out-of-home care (foster homes, shelters, next-of-kin) was 11,483.
11,483 children.
The number of foster homes at the end of 2014 in Oklahoma was just 6,294.
40-50% of children in foster care will not go on to graduate high school.
80% of our prison population in the United States was once in foster care.
(You can find this data to verify my facts here and here.)
…
I see it.
I see you.
I see that you’ve grown.
Not yet a little girl, but no longer my little baby.
You want to do everything by yourself. Your newfound independence is both exciting and heart wrenching. You don’t need me the way you used to. I hear “I can do it” at least 50 times a day; brushing your teeth, combing your hair, putting on clothes – and you can! You can do all those things without me, and my heart swells with pride each time you successfully accomplish a new task all by yourself. This is what I’m training you for – independence. So why is it so incredibly painful?
…
