Being a foster parent won’t always be easy

My foster care journey began almost two years ago. Since then I have accepted nine children into my home and they have taught me so much. If there is one thing I had to sift out of all the knowledge of the past two years, it would be this: Being a foster parent won’t always be easy. There will be times when you are exhausted and yearn for the days when going to the bathroom alone wasn’t considered a “break”. But there will also be times that encourage you, lift you up, and validate every reason why you started this journey. I’d like to share with you the story of my Princess, who has changed my life in the very best of ways.

Are you ready to be someone’s good castle?

Princess has been placed with me for over a year now. She has some pretty severe PTSD and we have been working really hard with her therapist to overcome some of this trauma in order to get her to a place where she can function well, be happy and live a good life. It has not been an easy road. There have been days where I have questioned myself, my parenting and my choices.

In December, Princess presented me with an illustrated story she had worked on. It was titled “The Princess with the Good and Bad Stuff.” The story went like this. “Once upon a time there was a princess who lived in a scary castle. It had a fire- breathing dragon, bats, ghosts and scary stuff. The princess was scared there. One day a fairy came and told her she was going to live at a good castle. The princess was scared because she thought she might miss the scary castle. But she was brave. At the good castle there were rainbows and a playground and everyone was smiling. The people in the good castle were my foster moms and we lived happily ever after.”

In that moment I saw all the hard work pay off, and it has changed my life.