Since birth, until about five or six years old, my mom has always struggled being a mom. She's had her speed bumps and setbacks, so it was kind of rough for me, having a roof over my head and having food all the time, until one day I ended up in this foster care home.
Initially, we just thought we would have Leo for respite care, which is what Chuck and I were doing as foster parents. It was a Thanksgiving holiday, and so we figured Leo would be with us for the holidays until foster care took time to research the ideal placement for him, which takes a little bit of time.
Each time, there was just a little question, or something that was going to take a couple more days, and we just kept saying, "Sure, he could come and hang with us." There was no sense in him having to go to 11 different homes while they were trying to figure out that perfect place, not knowing it was us.
I mean, what do you do with a kid who's not even eight, and you know the lifestyle he'd be going back to, or possibly bouncing from foster care to foster care? You can't, not when you have the means and the ability.
So, I'd say the main difference is that it's more supportive here, more loving and caring. Food isn't as much of a struggle. When I first came here, I was able to take baths every day. I was about six years old, and I was actually able to clean myself every day. That's nice. And then I was finally able to go to school every day.
You could see all they needed was love and a stable home.
The day we adopted him, when it was all said and done, it was kind of giddy. I mean, everybody, we had the whole family there, so they were all pretty excited about it too.
If it wasn't for this family, I wouldn't be in the place I am today. I've learned that they're just trying to do the best for me, to help me be successful. That's really important, I realize.
Without Boys Town, we probably wouldn't have pursued foster care or adoption. We definitely wouldn't have adopted. I mean, we have four kids, and he was six years younger than our youngest. So, definitely, I was ready to hit my fifties and start taking it easy.
Because of Boys Town, I've gotten a second chance at being successful. It was definitely an opportunity to make my life better and be loved, feel welcome and comfortable.
I think the thing that made me want to continue on is love. It sounds kind of mushy, but I love the child. I love Leo, and it was just a love for him that I wanted to make him part of our family forever.
I mean, you talk about forever families. It'll be the hardest job you ever loved. It's just like raising your own kids. There'll be different problem sets. They're not necessarily your own, but I mean, they're kids. They're innocent. Those innocents may or may not have been taken away.
So if you have an opportunity to give somebody a better life, better opportunities, it'd be a crime not to.
They're amazing parents, and they just want the best for me. They want me to be very successful, and I appreciate that a lot. I'm very thankful for it.
