In just 2 days, we will officially be on "the list." The list to be a safe haven to a small child who desperately needs a loving advocate and a family. If you're wondering how I feel about it, in all honesty, I'm a little nervous! Which is interesting to me because I've been excited through this whole process. I think it compares a little to when you're 9 months pregnant and the excitement about meeting your baby is slightly overshadowed by nerves over how much your life is about to change. (For the better though!) I think becoming a foster mom is the same way for me -- I'm so excited to meet out sweet foster kiddo but nervous about how much life is going to change. (But for the better still!)
When I called Ben to tell him the good news (that we were finally licensed and on the list), I asked how he felt. "Excited!" he said. It wasn't what I expected! I always thought that I would be the excited one and he would be the nervous one. I know that when the time actually comes (probably no later than this weekend), I will be excited.
So how did we even start out on this adventure? It's simple really -- we just wanted to help. The need is great. And we're pretty good parents! So why not? Fostering is always something I've wanted to do. It probably stems somewhere from not growing up in the most stable home. I had parents who loved me, but who made bad decisions. That's life. It's not always fair and it's not always pretty. But if given the opportunity to step in for a child in need, why wouldn't we? What an amazing opportunity! I knew since I was very young that this is something I would want to do. I was waiting for the time to feel right. And suddenly, it hit me. I'm home with the kids, I absolutely adore being a mother, I have a capacity to love... why not? Ben was on board pretty much right away. Fostering wasn't something he had given a lot of thought to, but he knew it was something that mattered to me, so he was very agreeable.
I placed the first phone call to the best local foster agency I could find. I wanted one with a great reputation and great social workers. I knew right away that if this agency would have us, it would be the way to go. My first call in, I got the voicemail. I nervously left my information. The agency promptly returned my call, but I sat there, afraid to answer the phone. I couldn't answer because I was so afraid that they would say that weren't what they were looking for. We have a dog, we're military, we have small children. I could think of lots of reasons why they might not want us. I got brave and called back, expecting to have it be my last phone call with the agency. But... it wasn't the last phone call. It was the first of many! I learned that having a dog, being a military family, having babies ourselves weren't reasons to reject us. What a relief! The social worker asked some basic questions, basically making sure our hearts were in the right place. They were and we were invited to a formal orientation.
We went to our foster orientation in the beginning of May. We planned to have an open mind about it and to walk out the door without regrets if we realized it wasn't for us. No hard feelings if either of us had doubts. We walked into the meeting thinking there was no way we could really be foster parents. We walked out thinking there was no way we couldn't.
After a battery (and I use that word very loosely) of psychological testing and interviews, and a whopper of an application, we were invited to 24 hours of foster training classes. At those classes, we met some incredible people. Incredible, amazing, big-hearted people -- the kind you'd be proud entrusting your own kids' care to. Good people all-around. Class was great. It was intense because of the subject matter but it was all such valuable knowledge. As a class, we definitely bonded and all plan to keep in touch. In fact, I've already met up with some of these families and I look forward to more get-togethers in the future. We are so lucky to have been with such wonderful people.
When training was over, our only hold up was the paperwork being processed. Since we're a military family, we've lived in a lot of different places. Thank goodness our agency is thorough because foster kiddos need to be protected. But this thoroughness added a LOT of time -- 7 weeks -- to our wait. It gave us time to get ready for another little one and to enjoy time as a family before receiving our new little addition.
Today I received a call that all of our paperwork has been received and we are now set to join the availability list Wednesday. The adventure begins!
