Foster Parent Blog

By @sometimes_mom Summer is really over now and Fall is in full swing! When our foster son left back in the spring, and we simultaneously became legal guardians of another child, we decided to take the summer off from fostering. This break allowed us to travel and enjoy our summer without the added hurdle of having to request permission from the Department of Children and Families, to leave the state. We took full advantage of this freedom, spending time on the beaches of Rhode Island and in the beautiful Adirondack Mountains of New York.  Begrudgingly, we dedicated some time at home to...

By @sometimes_mom Last month, my husband and I were granted legal guardianship of a minor which means, we are no longer foster parents. For the time being, anyway.  Guardianship is not something I’ve talked much about because quite honestly, it wasn’t on my radar until recently. Most questions I receive are about how foster care differs from adoption but now I find myself trying to explain how guardianship fits in to the equation, so it seemed like a relevant topic to share this month.  When a child is placed in foster care, the goal for that child is to be reunified...

By @sometimes_mom Once again, we find ourselves preparing to say goodbye to a foster child. After 7 months with us, and even longer in foster care, we are happy (and sad) to help him transition back home to his biological family. We have had the privilege of welcoming ten foster children into our home, and regardless of the amount of time they are with us, at some point, we have had to say goodbye. People will ask if it gets easier with each goodbye and the honest answer is “no, but”. No, it doesn’t get easier, but I know how to better...

By @sometimes_mom Anyone who knows me knows how much I love my (foster) children. But is this love any less than the love a parent has for their (biological) child? Absolutely not! But also, I guess I don’t know. I have never had biological children.  Back when I was in first grade, I remember a friend saying to me “I have the best mom in the whole world!” Now, to another first grader, those might have seemed like fighting words, but I distinctly remembered thinking to myself “how would she know? She has only had one mom and of course, everyone...

(Pictured above: me not enjoying a ride at The Happiest Place on Earth) By Sometimes MomFollow her on Instagram @sometimes_mom Foster care is a roller coaster. Ironically, I’m not a big fan of roller coasters due to my general aversion to danger and crippling motion sickness. In fact, I have to pop a Dramamine basically anytime I’m in a car where I’m not the driver. Not being in control of my movement can make me feel physically ill.  As a foster parent, I have very little control and my foster children have even less. Biological parents, I imagine, also feel powerless...