One of Those Days

Dear friend,

Yesterday was one of those hard, frustrating foster parent days you hear about all the time and pray doesn’t happen to you. As much good as the foster system does, it’s an incredibly challenging thing to navigate, especially when you truly care about the kiddos (the heartbreaking truth is there are waaaay too many bad foster parents out there who are in it for the wrong reasons).

We had been looking forward to a very specific court date for months, and it was supposed to be tomorrow, but got postponed indefinitely because of a new Supreme Court order banning all in-person court cases from happening unless they’re an emergency or meet certain guidelines, an unfortunately our case doesn’t meet them.

PJ was on the phone all morning trying to sort it out. One of the most frustrating parts is just how many people you have to go through to get something, anything, accomplished. So very many people are involved who make important decisions, people with a lot more power than you feel that you have, which oftentimes can leave you feeling helpless and on your own.

But on the bright side, I am grateful to have a husband who doesn’t ever give up no matter what and who fights for what is right. I am grateful that we have these kids who have changed our lives, for the better, in every way imaginable. And I am grateful to have a sister who orders Crumbl Cookies to be delivered to our house in an attempt to cheer us up. And you know what? It actually brightened my day to see that bright pink box and that sweet little note on our doorstep. Thank you, Sydney. I love you.

I really don’t like to post negative things on here, but I feel it’s important to note that, if you’re thinking of becoming a foster parent (which has been the most rewarding experience of our lives and I encourage you to consider becoming one!!), please be prepared for hard days, a rollercoaster of emotions, and intense feelings of frustration.

Though, when I pause to think about it, I think that’s just called being a parent?