Adoption, foster care, Children's Wi, eagles
At Every Turn > Foster Care > Fly with the eagles: Learning to soar as a foster parent
Patient Stories Mar 28, 2016

Fly with the eagles: Learning to soar as a foster parent

Betsy DuKatz, Foster and Adoptive Parent

I don’t know about you, but before we became a foster family we knew NO ONE who fostered. As a family of four, we were taking a leap of faith into this unknown world. We had so many questions and very few answers. Fast forward eight years and we now have an extended family of wonderful people, all because we became foster parents!

Each of our early experiences were learning experiences that allowed us to develop our wings. You see, the thrill of soaring first begins with the fear of falling. But the fear shouldn’t stop you. Fear will always be at the start of pushing ourselves, finding our purpose or calling.

The privilege of being an eagle

As a foster parent, I have lost count of how many times I have heard someone say, “I was thinking of doing that someday” or, “I always wanted to foster but …”  Their focus was on the “fall,” be it fear, busyness or lack of information. It prevented them from the thrill of soaring. Until you learn to soar, you will fail to understand the privilege of being an eagle.

Do you know eagle parents actually push their young to teach them how to fly? Soaring isn’t an option. The mother will literally push her young ones from the nest and the father will fly down and catch them on his back if they are not able to fly yet. This cycle repeats until they finally take flight.  Did you know that eagles only fly with other eagles? That’s because eagles fly at a height no other birds fly, and it all begins with the gift of a gentle push — the gift of experiencing heights that can only be reached because you can now soar with the eagles!

So you don’t know anyone that fosters or you’ve never been to court or you don’t have all the answers. Many of us didn’t either. There will always be unknowns and walls that obstruct our vision. Our job is to find a way around, under, through, or over those walls. My advice to you: Flying over with the eagles is the best way to go, and it has the prettiest views.

Please take that first step and contact us or come to a new foster information meeting.

The flock needs you!

At any given time, as many as 7,000 children are in foster care in Wisconsin. As the largest provider of foster care programming in the state, Children’s Wisconsin offers high levels of support to foster and adoptive families.  View more articles from Betsy DuKatz

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