It's been a long time since I've had a baby living in my home.
The picture above is of my youngest daughter, now 11 years old.
I've been a mother my entire adult life. I was 18 years old when my eldest child, Danielle, was born. I was 36 when my second child, Emily, was born.
Two children, both girls, both essentially only children.
How I wanted something different!
When Em was just 3 1/2, we learned I was pregnant and I was ecstatic. I had always wanted three children. When we lost the baby at ten weeks I was heartbroken. We tried, and tried again, but we never got pregnant again. By then I was 40, and now, at 47, I'm going through menopause. A year now with no period and I'm considered post-menopausal.
Friends of ours, much younger than us, had struggled with infertility for years. Finally, they decided to fulfill their dreams of a large family by fostering to adopt.
They started with one, a little boy, just six days old. He was born addicted to meth and his bio parents' rights were eventually terminated when they refused to change their ways.
Three years later and that little boy has been adopted, and now has an adopted baby sister (age 14 months), a foster sister (age 20 months), and a foster brother (half-brother of the adopted sister, age 4 months).
My friend had someone call her "the woman in the shoe" the other day!
And while I am NOT looking for a passel of little ones - I would like to have "just one more."
I wish I were the person who could be that perfect foster parent for a nine-year-old or a teenager who has spent their life in the system. But I know my limitations. Instead, I want a little one, a newborn to age two range.
I want to love them and foster to adopt and raise up "just one more."
My husband is NOT excited about this. However, he has done all of the background checks right alongside me and now we are scheduled for the foster to adopt training in January and after that will be the home study.
Once all of that has been done, we will be put in the line for a baby, which, considering the massive drug crisis in our country (no, the War on Drugs is NOT working and instead creating an even deeper problem) will be fairly quick.
And after that, it is approximately fifteen months to two years before the child is available for adoption. Which is free for foster parents, by the way.
What about you? Would you consider fostering to adopt? Why or why not?
Christine Shuck is a writer, artist, and general malcontent living in Kansas City, Missouri. She has written six books, five of which are published on Amazon. You can learn more about her by signing up for her newsletter, visiting her author website or one of her blogs:
The Deadly Nightshade - covers diy, sustainability, gardening, cooking, crafts, community and more
The Learning Advocate - touches on parenting, education and more
The Cottages - focuses on our renovations of two bungalows in Historic Northeast Kansas City and their future as Airbnb properties
She’s written six books, five of which are currently on Amazon:
Gliese 581: The Departure – A sci-fi thriller
War’s End: The Storm – A dystopian tale about the Second American Civil War in the day after tomorrow
War’s End: A Brave New World – The sequel to War’s End: The Storm
The War on Drugs: An Old Wives Tale – Part memoir, part call to action on ending the War on Drugs in America
Get Organized, Stay Organized – down-to-earth advice on how our lives became so cluttered, and how we can change
