A Little Bit About Me

To understand my journey to becoming a foster/adoptive parent, I think it's imporant to know where I came from and a little bit of historical information about my story.

My Story (Cliff-Notes Version)

I am 30 years old, going on 31 in a few weeks. Some people dread their 30's. I am the opposite, I'm absolutely enjoying it! I am finally in a position to do something that I've always wanted to do - become a foster or adoptive parent. But I will get to that in a future post :) I'm single with no kids.

I did not grow up in the most stable household. We had (and still have) issues in my small family. The one area where I was most fortunate is that I was able to grow up in the same house since I was five. I would not have guessed it at the time, but a family living three houses down from us would have a significant impact on my life.

The neighbors around the corner had five children of their own. These "neighbors" have grown to become family to my older brother and me. They took us in. We went to their family events, we spent almost all the holidays with them, and they were there for us when we had difficulties in our household. A family of seven, taking in two non-related, troubled, neighborhood kids - just out of the kindness of their hearts.

Being an adult, I understand how easy it is to get caught up in your own life and ignore the peripheral. Especially if you have your own family and life to worry about. Who really has the time, strength, or energy to invest in the neighbor's kids? Growing up, I did not realize how unordinary it was for a family to open their home and hearts to other people's children. I am also at fault for focusing on the negative of my life, instead of on the positive. It took me an extremely long amount of time to truly understand the significance of what they did for my brother and I.

Fast forward twenty-five years later, when I talk about my "family" - I'm referring to them.They are the rock in my life, the place I know I belong, they are home for me. I truly feel blessed and fortunate that circumstances occurred the way that they did. They ARE my family. Moving to the small house when I was five was a pivotal moment in my life that would bring me to my "adoptive" family. I  truly do not know where I would be today if I had never met them or if they had never reached out to us.

Why Blog?

Last night I was discussing with a close friend of mine about my first "Partnering for Safety and Permanence - Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting" (PS-MAPP) class. I had so many concerns, questions, and emotions about the process. She suggested that I keep a journal about my experience since there are so many instances in our lives where we forget things, why we took this/that action, thought processes, and feelings/emotions. A blog would be a nice record and a good outlet to express what I'm going through.

I'm not a blogger, this is my first attempt at it. More to come :)