Birthdays.
It’s the night before a birthday in our home and I usually spend it feeling emotional, while perusing through old photos and videos. I laugh and reminisce, and sit in disbelief that time can truly be passing so quickly and that my once squishy babies can be getting so big. But tonight isn’t the same. Tonight I lay here with so many questions and feeling more emotions than I expected. Tonight I sit and wonder if her mother is laying awake, thinking about this very night ten years ago. I feel deep down inside like she must be thinking of her girl, who is sleeping peacefully down the hall from me. She’s supposed to be the one who sets out her birthday outfit before bed... who is taking ice cream cups to her friends at school and planning her birthday dinner and dessert. My heart breaks. For both of them, truly. And I fill the gap because that’s what this is. The whole idea of foster care is so chalked up to be more complicated and scary than it really is. But I’m just a mom, loving a...
