It is a bittersweet ending to my journey with the Lil A’s. Today they moved on to the home of a family kinship, which truly is the next best thing for these two.
The end of last week had been a huge struggle for me as I could not find a way to logistically make it work for the oldest A to stay in my home. Similarly to many foster children, Big A had an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) which requires him to attend a preschool that can meet his educational special needs. Unfortunately, at this point in the school year our county preschools are packed and the only opening for him was on the other side of the county. Long term, I just couldn’t sustain transporting him while maintaining my full-time job. Nor did I think it was fair to the kiddo to be traveling hours a day to/from school. On top of that, his current preschool he had been attending for 3 years just adored him and did not want to see him go. My heart was so torn and the last thing I wanted was to split these two precious kids apart after all they had been through.
I prayed and prayed that the kinship options their caseworker was investigating would come through. Despite the love I already had for the kids, I knew the best thing next to their parents was for someone in their family to raise them and keep them together. The news finally came in late Friday that the kinship was approved. I was so glad to have the weekend to spend with the kids and just enjoy our time together and take some photographs to capture the memories. (Unfortunately I cannot share the photos with the kids faces for their protection and privacy, but I have included the few I can that capture some of the fun times!)
It’s hard to believe that in less than two weeks with kids that you can impact their lives, but the changes we saw were remarkable in such a short time. The teachers said that Big A was the happiest they had ever seen him in 3 years, which just warmed my heart and reminded why the heart break and uncertainty is worth it! While Lil A wanted constant holding, Big A usually asked to not be touched. He broke my heart when he came to me with out-stretched arms and hugged me for the first time as we said goodbye. The last waves goodbye were hard as the reality is that I will very likely never see them again, but I wouldn’t trade the time we had together for anything.
“EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON.”