another place at the table

Did you like my writer's version of drunk dialing?  I guess that is what you get when I decide to publish a post written while experiencing an extreme emotion.  Never fear though.  The Lord is greater than I and has infinite power to remove even the most heavy of burdens.  It is well with my soul.

 On a completely unrelated note (how'd you like that smooth transition?), I have been doing some foster parenting related reading while we wait.  I read a couple memoir types written by adults who grew up in The System many years ago.  But this new book has been even more educational and intriguing.  It is called "Another Place at the Table: a story of shattered childhoods redeemed by love" by Kathy Harrison.  It is written
from her perspective after being a foster parent for 13 years.  

I wanted to share a couple quotes from her book just for my own knowledge and reference. 

"...the phone woke me up at midnight.  The voice on the other end of the receiver was annoyingly bright and chipper, oblivious to my groggy state.  He needed a place for a baby boy.  Could I help?  "A ten-month-old? Sure.  Bring him over.  I'll leave the light on."  By this time, havoc had become somewhat routine.  Bruce slept through the phone call and all of my hurried preparations, which I managed to make without fully waking up.  I pulled out the small crib and set up in our den, then found a clean sleeper and a few diapers.  Last, I made up a bottle and curled up in front of the fire in the living room to wait.  What can I say about waiting for a baby?  It is a bit like being in labor.  Excitement laced with worry, that sense of not being prepared.  The questions are one part of fostering that has never changed for me.  What in heaven's name have I gotten myself into?  What if I can't do it?  Suppose the baby screams all night or gets sick?  Suppose I do the wrong thing and make things worse?  What if I love him and lose him or, worse, what if I don't?" -pg. 16

"It comes as no surprise that finding families willing to open their doors to the rigors of foster parenting is so hard.  Fostering means knowing about things most of us would prefer to forget.  It means recognizing that our best is often not good enough.  It means only knowing the difficult beginnings of a story and being forced to imagine the end.  It means loving children who will ultimately leave us, then drying our tears and letting ourselves love again." -pg. 50

Good stuff, right?  I have busted through this great (and disturbing) read in a couple of days and are excited to read more like it.  There is a lot to glean from the wisdom of people who have walked this journey before us.

Next on my end table to start reading? "Adopting the Hurt Child" by Keck and Kupecky.  Fun times.