"The mom is considering terminating her parental rights earlier than expected and wants to know if you would adopt Evie."
The number one question we have gotten as foster parents is: "How long will you have her?" I'm not sure if they sympathized the intense fatigue as a result of infant sleeplessness or were just curious about how foster care works. But based on how our case was presented to us, we were always told to expect one year. One year is how long we should anticipate having Evie. One year is how long the judge gave Evie's mom to check off all the items she needed to do to establish a good place for Evie to return home to. We received Evie on August 17, 2021.
It was JANUARY 2022 when we were asked the headliner question: will you be open to adopting her? Only FIVE MONTHS into our first ever foster child. In truth, the question was not even on our radar. Our focus was on rooting for Evie's mom to get her back. Or if not her mom, her grandparents who love her very much. There doesn't seem to be any other extended family available to take her for a kinship placement, which is Virginia's method of operating in this circumstance. We were just the foster parents. A TEMPORARY commitment. You get the child, you give them back. This is the expectation. This is how it is suppose to work.
By this summer, Isaac will be 15 and Juliet will be 13. Tim and I are in the home stretch to empty nesting! We are starting college preparatory exams and visits. Isaac will begin to drive this year. When I think about the kids leaving the house, my mouth starts to salivate thinking of all the eating out, weekend trips, fishing on the lake, massages, shopping, facials. I can finally do whatever I want. Oh, the glory of it!
Our family has some things to consider...stay tuned!
