“I don’t know what sound came out of me, but I know I started screaming, shaking. I ran to the bathroom and sat on the floor for about half an hour before I could even stand up. Students put posters in their friends lockers with sweet notes. My ‘Get Well Soon’ poster comments were ‘Hope You Die’ and ‘Don’t Come Back.’ That month changed everything, including my innocence.”
‘Did you not get my letter? Your dad’s been dead 7 months. He killed himself.’ Imagine being told that over the phone.’: Woman endures years of trauma, meets ‘saving grace’ who saved her life
‘You don’t belong here and your color is awful!,’ a child said to my 5-year-old African American son on his first day of school.’: Mom worries for her adopted children at school this year, says despite ‘all the goodness, there is hurt’
“Before he even stepped foot into his new classroom, a child on the playground came up to him. At age 5, my son had to come home and tell our family this as we sat around the dinner table. I had to look away so he wouldn’t see my tears.”
‘I have 2 bio kids, 2 adopted, 3 special needs foster children. I wanted nothing to do with the ‘white picket’ American Dream.’: Special needs mom cherishes the ‘beautiful chaos’ of ‘meeting the needs of others’
“‘Your baby has a large mass. Prepare for the worst.’ I was learning how to be married, live in a city where we knew no one, being first-time teachers and parents to a baby who may or may not be okay. The older, wiser folks warned us to slow down. And yet none of this chaos ever silenced the call we felt to pursue adoption and fostering. Our life is absolutely crazy. But I look through my dark-circled eyes at this beautiful mess and know I’m right where I need to be.”
‘Please,’ they begged. ‘Would you take in a newborn, just for the weekend?’ I knew my husband would say no.’: Foster mom adopts ‘special little boy,’ is forever grateful for her son ‘who almost wasn’t’
“I could literally hear water balloons whizzing over my husband’s head. ‘What?!! Are you crazy? Heck No!’ I expected this. But I couldn’t let it go. I pictured this baby alone, in need of someone to hold him, to help him feel safe. ‘Please honey, just consider it,’ I urged. ‘It’s only for the weekend!’ Around 9 p.m., there was a knock on my door. ‘We’ll take good care of you this weekend, little guy.’ I snuggled him softly.”
‘I was a teen at a nightclub. I lied. I got scouted, but there was a catch. He needed $3,000 for the ‘lessons.’: Daughter reconciles with addict mom after being signed over to the government as a child, living in 11 foster homes
“I saw my mom inject heroin. When the social workers came, I would hide all her needles. I didn’t want to be labeled ‘the foster child’ at school. When I turned 12, only 2 couples came forward wanting to adopt me. I felt like I was betraying my mom. I no longer wanted to be here, and inhaled poisonous fumes. But now I know why I’ve had this life.”
‘An elderly woman behind us said, ‘he’s beautiful.’ We both responded with a resounding, ‘Thank you!’: Adoptive mom says her son’s 17-year-old birth mother was her ‘saving grace,’ she’ll forever ‘be in awe’ of her
“She was innocently attempting to make sense of us 3. I followed up quickly. ‘I had nothing to do with it,’ I said, winking at the mother of my child. Nicole, his birth mom, responded with her trademark wisdom. ‘I’ll take credit for his good looks,’ she whispered. ‘You can take credit for his smile.’”
‘Honey, I loved you first. But, you get the last of me.’: Wife realizes husband has to ‘fight’ for her attention now, admits their life ‘looks much different’ after kids
“I remember you picking me up for our first date. I spent a whole hour getting ready for you. Making sure every hair was in place and my makeup was perfect. When you see me now at the end of the day, the makeup on my face is smeared. My hair is in some rat’s nest. And my outfit, 100% has someone’s bodily fluids smeared somewhere.”
‘Never in a billion years would I have imagined myself a stay-at-home mom with 3 foster kids.’: Foster mom starts movement to help others understand ‘the effects of childhood trauma on foster and adoptive youth’
“I was working as a marketing consultant. ‘What are you REALLY passionate about?’ I got on a soapbox about trauma and foster youth. She just looked at me and said, ‘That’s your passion girl. That’s your THING. Until you’re all in that, you’re not gonna get where you want to be!’ I quit my job. She was right.”
‘No one has ever wanted you here. If you find a family that will actually love you, go be with them.’: 26-year-old adopted after years of childhood trauma, abuse, says you’re ‘never too old to need parents’
“At 17, I was put into foster care. ‘We would adopt you!’ Tears flowed down my face. I’d never thought I’d hear this as a 26-year old, aged-out foster youth, and a formerly abandoned child. The judge wiped away tears, pausing to thank us for letting him finish his week with us. As we were ending, he declared, ‘This is a happy day!’”
‘When will we get our baby brother?’ We needed $4,000 and had no idea how to come up with that money.’: Couple embark on adoption ‘roller coaster,’ community unites to raise money
“We have his room all set up for him. We have clothes, toys, a family waiting for him. All the while, others share their highlight reel of adoption and make it look like a breeze. I want to teach him words, love on him, watch him run around the house and yard with his brother and sister. My heart is aching for him to be with us.”
