Famous people who were once in foster care

A little while ago Seth and I took in a super short term emergency placement. Two little girls needed a place to go for the weekend before a more permanent foster home could be found for them on Monday when the agency reopened.

I’m a sucker for these last minute placements, much to my husband’s chagrin. When CPS calls me late at night I always tell them I can take the kids short term only until another long-term foster home can be found for them because right now we cannot afford daycare for any other kids. CPS always winds up saying that they’re going to try to find a more permanent place, calls a bunch of other people, and then comes back to me saying they’ve come up dry. Then we frantically scramble around to get beds out and pack and plays up and linens ready and guess pajama sizes and get a few stuffed animals ready to receive our little house guests, while CPS folks get the kids to us.

These two little ones were an absolute delight. They were the cutest kids, and super close to each other. One of the little girls noticed that I had a magazine with Simone Biles on the front cover, and she asked about who that girl was. So I showed the girls some videos of Simone doing her thing. 

Now, Simone Biles is basically the definition of Black girl magic, and the girls were absolutely enchanted. They watched video after video after video. I have tons of videos of Simone Biles saved in YouTube because I practically worship the woman, so I had an endless supply for the girls. 

After a while I found myself feeling teary about it because Simone Biles herself had once been in foster care. I wish every kid in foster care could know that, and could know the list of other famous people who’ve been in foster care, and could know that foster care does not define them and they can go on to do whatever they want in life. Life has thrown foster kids a hell of a curveball, but with grit and determination, lots of things are possible.