Being a foster parent is not for the faint of heart. A cycle of taking in broken, wounded little hearts, often just for them to get broken and wounded again — all while remaining “unattached” for the sake of their assured departure from your care — is a nearly impossible job for most to fathom undertaking.
The Challenge of Explaining Foster Care to a Child
And all that aside, how do you even begin to explain to a 3-year-old that they have a “new daddy” or “new mommy” in a way that doesn’t completely wreck their perception of what it means to be part of a family?
Deborah Sweet’s Journey as a Foster Parent
But moms like Deborah Sweet of Boston, Massachusettes do it every day.
In a powerful post submitted to Love What Matters, Sweet tells of the heart-wrenching moment her foster son broke down amidst a late-night kitchen dance party to tell her what’s been burning in his 3-year-old heart.
A Heart-Wrenching Moment in Foster Care
“Last night, we were having a dance party while I made dinner. Until we weren’t,” wrote Sweet. “This is how quickly the beat and the tempo changes in our home. For over ten years, a lifetime really, we have welcomed children into our family in need of a safe place to land. Our house is loud and fun and scheduled and chaotic and perfectly imperfect. We are a foster family.”
