To the editor:
My family does a job that we are often told is one not many people can do. It is a job that requires determination, patience, love, understanding and so much more.
The job my family does is being a foster family, mom, sister and aunt. Time and time again I’m told its too difficult, that the heartbreak is too much, balancing it will be too much you will get to attached.
With most of these ideas I agree, at times it can be trying, it can make you want to scream, cry and run. But there is something that makes it all worth it, something that draws you back in every time. It makes all the heartbreak and the pain, all the sadness and things that you never thought you would have to deal with worth it. That thing is the look on a child’s face when they realize that they are safe and that they are loved.
These kids need someone to love them and open their homes to them so maybe for the first time in their life they feel safe. Each kid that we get is so unique and special. They all bring a little more joy to my life than I thought would be possible. They all have different stories and pain that you have to get to know and understand. Each child a puzzle who needs unlocking to get to know them. I have fell in love each of the kids that have passed through our home, whether they were only with us for a night, a week, a few months, or even for a few years. It has been an amazing journey that my family has been on. I would gladly have kept all the kids that we have had. I will always be willing to fight for them and do anything possible to help these kids. And I will always love them.
I have cried many tears for these kids, spent the hours after they left us for the final time crying on my couch with my face buried in a pillow. I have gotten attached. I have felt the heartbreak of knowing I will never see them again. I have also felt all the wonderful things that come along with the sadness the good that outweighs all the little bits of pain. Seeing the smile on a child’s face when they wake up and see you are still there is an amazing feeling that I will never get tired of experiencing. Hearing a them say her first word or seeing him taking his first steps there no feeling in the world that can come close to these moments. The joy when they see you in their face when they see you came to their piano recital. Even the most mundane of things movie nights, bedtimes, and grocery shopping are changed. When they come up to you and all they want is a snuggle, a hug or a kiss on the forehead, you feel a love you haven’t experienced before.
Yes, it is heartbreak, yes it can be painful, but there are so many things that make it the best job ever. I encourage all people who feel they have a little love they can share to look into it, it is something to experience because I promise your life will never be the same. I recommend with all my heart, spirt and soul to foster and to open your home to those who need it.
Teanna Bertin-McLeod,
Thunder Bay
