04/12/2024
IMPORTANT LIFE UPDATE - I am now the very proud permanent carer of a very awesome young human!!
As some of you know, I have felt called to be a foster parent for a long time. Even at four years old I used to say I wanted to adopt kids, although I'm sure I didn't understand what that meant at the time. Suffice it to say, while I've held a variety of stances over the years, I've always imagined that whatever version of a family I created would be an unconventional one.. And so it begins!
In July, I began my most recent job as a Youth Worker in out of home care. More specifically, in a STEP (supported temporary emergency placement) program. On my first day, I met a phenomenal fellow Aquarian who I recognised as some kind of soul kin. I knew immediately that this was the kid I would foster. That thought was followed quickly by reflecting on the many ways I'd been trained to hold strong boundaries, my internal dialogue saying 'you can't possibly want to take the first kid you meet home!!' with a dramatic eyeroll.
But Spirit has a way of working through me and I was already committed to following the strange thread that the Universe had laid out. In retrospect, I'd been following this thread long before I actually met Kiara.
I didn't wait long before beginning the application process, knowing it would take time and understanding that any time I took would directly impact this girl, dragging out her time stuck in an emergency placement that she'd already been in too long.
Late last year I had decided that this year was to be my preparation year, that I would use it to get ready, to apply to be a carer, and somewhere in there I had made the assumption that I would go through that process BEFORE meeting the child that I would care for. But the world works in mysterious ways, and I've never been one to follow the tradition route, so I changed tact and decided to follow my instincts, applying to foster Kiara specifically.
(Continued in comments..)
