Standing Up

I am seeing someone.

A therapist.

🤣LoL!
 Sorry. I couldn’t resist. 😁

Seriously though. This foster care parenting thing is tough! Six months in now and we have had eight kids through our doors. A couple were just respite (very short term care to give their foster parents a quick break or time off), a few were short term (weeks to a couple months), and one is currently very long term, like years.

These kids are upset, angry, confused, hurt, sad, and every other emotion you can imagine. And since they are kids, they do and say things because of how they are feeling. Opening our home to foster children has opened our home to trauma and trauma behaviors. This roller coaster of emotions and behaviors can be exhausting. Throw in caseworkers, bio-families, doctor appointments, DCF meetings, and rules and regulations. Top it off with all the normal issues with biological children, adult children, grandchildren, parents, siblings, friends, etc. etc. etc.

You get the idea. Overwhelmed just brushes against the tip of the emotions iceberg!

Sam noticed I was struggling: emotional, irritable, and sensitive to everything that was said or done. He gently, from a distance, suggested I see someone. Good call on his part. And not just the “from a distance” part! 😂

So I did. And I feel better. I am learning some new strategies for handling our long term foster kid and for dealing with myself. Being aware, that I have needs and if they don’t get met I can’t be the best me there is for anyone, is a good thing. Having a husband who is aware of all that and is quick to suggest, support, and encourage healthy coping strategies, is an amazing thing!

One of my new year’s resolutions is to stand up for myself, because if I don’t, there are very few people who will and a whole bunch of little people need me to stay sane. Part of standing up is becoming self-aware. Standing up is also being humble enough to say, “I can’t do this without help. Please help me”.

This is me in 2020.