Tag Archives: success

How does trauma affect behavior?

On Thursday, I packed up Sunny and Sprout and went to Boston with my Dad for my niece’s graduation weekend. Seth had to work, and doesn’t yet have the kind of seniority he needs to take off his weekend shifts. So it was my Dad and me and the girls. To say I was apprehensiveContinue reading “How does trauma affect behavior?”

The Difference Nine Healthy Months Makes

My Concert Weepies Last night, I sat in a crowded theater full of cheering parents and likewise cheered my kid, who was singing in the 2nd grade chorus concert. Sprout was the wiggliest wildest audience member, along with her BFF, whose parents we got to meet finally for the first time last night. I foundContinue reading “The Difference Nine Healthy Months Makes”

Finding the Helpers

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’” Fred Rogers Foster care is full of darkness. It’s full of abuse, heartbreak, and tragedy. It’s full of underpaid and overworked social workers,Continue reading “Finding the Helpers”

Healing as a “Not Working” Working Mom

There’s no secret that my time working at a law firm was painfully difficult for me. I am smart and a good researcher and writer so that part of the work was good. I wrote some kick-ass legal briefs in my time there, and won some difficult cases in part because of my research andContinue reading “Healing as a “Not Working” Working Mom”

Structure, Consequences, and Rewards: What Works?

Let me start this post by emphasizing every kid is different. Of the three kids in our house, different things work for each one of them. With Sprout, she’s been with us since she was less than 2, in a stable, structured, safe environment where her needs are always met. She views Seth and meContinue reading “Structure, Consequences, and Rewards: What Works?”

Neurodivergence Part 1: An Adult Diagnosed with ADHD

Why is there a blog post about ADHD in a blog about foster care? Partly because it’s my blog, and my story, and I feel like sharing. It’s also because there are plenty of neurodivergent kids in foster care too, so this might help a foster parent understand a kid they’re caring for a littleContinue reading “Neurodivergence Part 1: An Adult Diagnosed with ADHD”

Relationships with Parents of our kids

Generally speaking, we’ve had good relationships with the parents of the kids in our care, or at least with the Moms who are doing the hard work to get their kids back. Dads have been hit or miss but the ones who have been engaged in services and visits we’ve had a good working relationshipContinue reading “Relationships with Parents of our kids”

Famous people who were once in foster care

Simone Biles Tiffany Haddish Eddie Murphy Marilyn Monroe Rosie Perez Colin Kaepernick Steve Jobs Malcolm X Seal 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 onContinue reading “Famous people who were once in foster care”