A Perfect Lunch Date

Life is trotting right along.

Our teen (who I’ve dubbed “Miss Kicks” because she has a pretty epic sneaker collection) still hasn’t started school but she’s registered and ready to go. She’s excited to start! When the guidance counselor called to tell me they were ready for her to start on Wednesday, she noted she was “excited about her good grades” in a shocked tone. I internally thought that I wanted the guidance counselor to keep her stereotypes about foster kids off my sweet smart teenager, but verbally said “Yes, she’s a good student, isn’t she?” I’m glad Miss Kicks is challenging the stereotypes. And truly the guidance counselor sounds quite nice and like she’s got a good plan for Miss Kicks’s introduction to the new school, so I’m giving her a pass.

Miss Kicks and I have spent several days doing girly things like getting her hair professionally braided, manicures and pedicures, and shopping. She’s got some magnificent long box braids, new clothes for school, and killer pink butterfly claws. We’ve driven around listening to her music at high volume (I now know most of the lyrics to WAP 😂) and drinking Starbucks, and I’ve had the chance to notice a few things. Like how Miss Kicks saw someone at the mall drop some change, picked it up, and returned it to her. And when she found clothes falling off hangers at Marshall’s she neatly straightened them so the sales people didn’t have to.

At home, Miss Kicks is endlessly patient with Kiddo and Tiny, and she refers to them as “my sisters,” and it makes my heart feel all melty. Kiddo refers to Miss Kicks as her sister too. Miss Kicks is silly and goofy and so much fun with the littler girls. When Kiddo and Miss Kicks get together the volume is set to As Loud As Human Girls Can Get, with lots of shrieking and laughter.

This isn’t a Kiddo weekend, but Kiddo was having a rough time with some family stuff so we picked her up today for a little lunch and overnight getaway. As we all sat around the table at Coppertop, with Kiddo and Miss Kicks chatting and giggling, and Kiddo getting some much needed hugs from Seth, and Tiny chatting to me about her French fries, I looked around and thought, “I’m having lunch with my four favorite humans in the world. It feels like a little bitty noisy miracle.”

Life is good. And god damn I love my foster and former foster kids. For all the stress and heartache it sometimes causes, becoming foster parents is the best decision Seth and I have ever made.