These hearts are worth it.

Today is the beginning of National Foster Care Awareness month.  I could tell you that in the state of Maine alone we have 2,000 kids in care and that 1 in 12 babies born in our Pine Tree State are addicted to drugs.  But honestly my heart is a little heavy and I don't really care about stats and neither do any of these kids.

Today a little after 6 this morning I had to say goodbye to one of these foster loves.  It was planned that he'd only be with us for 10 days, but a lot happens in a family in just a few days.  He loved our zip-line, riding bikes, and catching salamanders with the boys.  Just like my two he never ran out of things to say about Minecraft and Avengers.  He did chores with us, played hard and enjoyed stories before bed.  He had more energy then he could ever possibly use.  Yesterday all three boys were running around the yard in socks because they were competing to see who could kick their shoes the furthest.  When he grows up he's going to be an air force pilot.  He gave hugs freely and was proud of how stinky his feet were.  He loved taking baths and asked for me to time him as he held his breath under water.   Last night when I tucked him into bed and we sat talking about his day he told me when he grows up he's going to move in with me and live with me forever, but that he would spend a lot of his time in the sky because he was going to be a pilot and protect his team mates from the bad guys. He was just like every other boy I know and love.  But then this morning it was time to say goodbye.  He cried hard, heavy sobs as he got into the car that takes him to school everyday.

There aren't enough foster homes.  So this boy lives an hour away and everyday has ridden an hour to school and an hour back to our house.  Now that his foster family is back we won't be able to just drop in or just hang out with him whenever because we live so far away.  That's the way of it in the system.  These kids who do nothing wrong but are forced to lose all the people they love because of mistakes their parents made.  And then they make friends and lose them and move on.  They can't be involved in sports and scouts because they have so many appointments and visits.  My heart breaks with each one I am introduced to.

Many people have said to me that they have always thought about getting involved.  These kids, these hearts are worth the risks you'll take.  The pain of my heart is worth knowing this boy felt loved and safe and knows what family should look like.  If you're debating the idea of becoming a foster family take the classes learn about how the system works.  You could do just short term care called respite like we were to this boy or you could do long term which I'll write more about later.