Small World

I have a friend that volunteers at the shelter Little Miss is at right now. She got to play and cuddle with her last night :)

What's really strange is that there's another volunteer at the shelter that mentioned she knew a little baby that was in foster care - that had the SAME name as my Little Guy. Turns out - she was in fact talking about my Little Guy...

This volunteer happens to be My Little Guy's Birth Father's - Brother's Wife's - Mother. Follow that?

How extremely odd is that? That out of everyone that works at the shelter that my friend would happen to be talking to someone somehow related to my foster son. It is such a small world.

I learned a little more about My Little Guy's family this way...

But let's think about this for a second. There's been a lot of controversy on whether or not foster parent's can post pictures of their foster kids on social media outlets. A lot of foster parents treat foster children like they're apart of their family (Side Bar: I realize that not ALL foster parents do this - but the GOOD ones do!). I can now see why this is not such a good idea. You never know who knows who and how people are related. If foster parents want to keep their confidentiality and privacy - it's probably best not to post pictures. Not to mention, if there are any safety concerns with birth relatives - it is our job as foster parents to keep the little ones safe.

Even after I adopt, I'm not really sure I'm going to be posting any pictures of my adoptive children on social media. I've really been thinking about it a lot lately and reading articles about "digital footprints". I guess time will tell if I change my mind. Some foster and adoptive parents have really good relationships with the birth families and friend them on Facebook, give out their numbers, invite them to their home. I think it really is a case by case basis on that. In some circumstances, it may be unsafe or damaging to the child. While in others, it can be a wonderful experience.

Just so strange that there are all these connections that we really don't think about or realize.