The Riverside Project

How do you hold joy and grief at the same time as a foster parent? ❤️‍🩹

As a foster parent, you learn to love a child wholeheartedly while also holding space for the possibility of one day saying goodbye.

Grant and Michaele Leathers have been foster parents for five years and have walked through many placements that ended with a variety of outcomes. They have been married for 9 years, and they truly see it as a privilege to be a small part in the stories of the families they support.

In this conversation, Grant and Michaele share some of the highs and lows of fostering, why it’s essential to find your village of support, how to manage parenting in spite of uncertainty, and much more.

🎧 Watch or Listen to Episode 51: https://riversideproject.org/podcast/grant-michaele-leathers-51/

"Our Executive Director, Amber Knowles, told me something 4+ years ago when my wife and I first became foster parents—and it has stuck with me ever since:

'As a foster parent, you will have people who love you and people who get you. And sometimes, those who love you the most may get you the least.'

One of the hardest things about becoming a foster parent is realizing that the people you’ve walked through life with may not be the same people you share your foster care journey with.

If I’m honest, our home can feel like a lot many days. And not everyone has the physical or emotional capacity to engage with the dynamics of our kids and home. So when I talk about the people who “get” us, I’m really referring to people with the bandwidth and experience to empathize with our family setup.

If you’re currently considering who you could share your foster care journey openly with, I want to offer three groups of people who might 'get' you..."

➡️ Read the full article here: https://riversideproject.org/blog/finding-your-community-to-navigate-the-foster-care-journey-with/