Every Monday-Friday from 8:30-5 I go to my job and work with children and families. Every day I deal with impossible parents or children with behaviors bigger than I can comprehend.
There are days where I see children on the worst day of their life when they are told they can no longer be with their parents and have to live with someone new - a total stranger.
Some days are good and some days are bad, but no matter how the day is I get to leave at 5 o’ clock and try to disconnect from work.
Foster parents on the other hand, do not. Day in and day out foster parents deal with the good the bad and the ugly. They deal with bio parents who resent them and kids who claim they don’t want to be with them. They do it without asking for a thank you or for anything in return. They do it without breaks or time away. Foster parents open their heart in a way that not every person can. Not everyone was cut out to love a child fiercely and deeply just for them to leave in a day, a week, a month, or even after a year. Fostering means breaking your heart to help repair someone else’s.
As a CPS worker one of the most rewarding thing is to see that same scared, hopeless child who I saw on the worst day of their life, blossom and thrive in their foster home. Bit by bit foster parents help them repair the pain they have dealt with and love them through the ups and downs of that journey. Not every ending is perfect, but without foster parents they would never have the opportunity to heal. It takes courage, passion, and strength to be a foster parent and those who are called to do it are really the definition of a superhero. Thank you to all the foster parents out there for stepping up when others weren’t able!
There are days where I see children on the worst day of their life when they are told they can no longer be with their parents and have to live with someone new - a total stranger.
Some days are good and some days are bad, but no matter how the day is I get to leave at 5 o’ clock and try to disconnect from work.
Foster parents on the other hand, do not. Day in and day out foster parents deal with the good the bad and the ugly. They deal with bio parents who resent them and kids who claim they don’t want to be with them. They do it without asking for a thank you or for anything in return. They do it without breaks or time away. Foster parents open their heart in a way that not every person can. Not everyone was cut out to love a child fiercely and deeply just for them to leave in a day, a week, a month, or even after a year. Fostering means breaking your heart to help repair someone else’s.
As a CPS worker one of the most rewarding thing is to see that same scared, hopeless child who I saw on the worst day of their life, blossom and thrive in their foster home. Bit by bit foster parents help them repair the pain they have dealt with and love them through the ups and downs of that journey. Not every ending is perfect, but without foster parents they would never have the opportunity to heal. It takes courage, passion, and strength to be a foster parent and those who are called to do it are really the definition of a superhero. Thank you to all the foster parents out there for stepping up when others weren’t able!
Kelsey graduated from Cornerstone University & jumped into foster care world as a CPS worker. Her passion to serve the most vulnerable children is contagious. Kelsey & her husband live in Virginia & have 2 adorable puppies, Moose & Cub.
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