Four years ago the wife and I decided to sign up for emergency care foster parents. We had lost a child 7 years ago to a heart defect and never were able to try again due to complications from the birth.
This is my second marraige and my first wife moved a state away so I had very little contact with my 2 boys - they were very young - and amazingly they somehow made it to their early 20's without me --
Anyway.. the emergency care foster parent program was to be available to take infants in as an emergency situation, normally they would then be either returned to the parent(s) or moved on to a more permanent status with a foster family. .... 2 weeks after having "graduated" from the program we took in 2 sisters, the oldest about 1 1/2 the youngest 9 monthes, I will never forget the look in the little ones eyes as she stood in the crib looking at me..she was reading me ..i remember thinking that this kid has experienced more crap than most of the 20 to 30 yr old kids I worked with... the cops figured they had been at least a week in an abandoned trailer home alone in a playpen when they were found, the oldest couldnt walk - wouldnt go near me - the man - of the house, and neither of them cracked a smile for at least 2 weeks that I recall..the emergency care 3 years later became adoption...
Today - they are my daughters - they both dress in their school uniforms-they are in daisies and brownies - they laff - they call me daddy..they cant go to sleep until dad kisses them goodnight and rubs their back and hugs them...lots more.... I'm 51 ..never going to retire... they have college funds... I have old football knees..and I thank God every day for putting them in my life... NwBie