Saturday, August 2, 2014

Great haircut

By the title I'm sure you are thinking "what does this have to do with foster care?" :)  Today I went to get a scheduled haircut with a woman I've seen only once before.  When I arrived she was running way behind and hubby was waiting for me to get back to go run his errands.  They offered to have another woman who was not busy do my hair.  I am not picky and anyone can do my hair, so I said "yes please!"

We discussed how many kids we  have and then she asked "are you done now?!"  I explained that we are foster parents and no...we are not done :)  She said "I have to tell you something really cool!"  She went on to explain how she was a former foster child.  She had been in the CA foster care system and had been through 3 placements.  The final placement wanted so badly to adopt her and her sister, but the biological mother was able to get the kids back.  Not what the children wanted, but no one listened to the children.

Many years later she re-connected with her former foster mom and she said "she is my mom and he is my daddy.  They always have been and always will be."  Her and her sister flew out to CA and after that Idaho (when they moved) to visit them and they FB/text almost daily.  The foster mother was amazed that the girls sought them out and wanted to reconnect.  She couldn't believe the girls remembered them.  Sometimes I think that we as foster parents minimize what we have done for children.  B. and her sister were in their home for 2 years and those were the 2 years that had the most impact in her childhood. She told me about all the things that they taught her and how so many things have stuck with her.

This brings Choo Choo to mind :)  He may be living somewhere else calling someone else Mom and Dad, but ya know what??  I think he'll always remember his time with us and who we were to him.  Many of the children we foster are so young, but somewhere deep in their spirits our love resides...no matter if we had them for days, months, or years!

On top of all that she gave me a great haircut and charged me a very small amount!  She said that she cuts mostly kids/family hair and she appreciates that we need to stay on a budget.  So thankful to have found B. and heard her story :)