Being a foster parent: It's like a train ride.

Anyone who knows me REALLY well knows I love a good analogy.
I've thought about this one often over the past few months:

The train that a foster parent climbs aboard is a little different though.

Imagine a train.  It's taking on passengers.  An abundance of seats are available.

But when you inquire about how long the journey will be - no one knows.  You could be on this train for 3 days, a few weeks, several months, or two years.   There is no guaranteed time frame for you to plan around.

When you inquire of the train's final destination, that information is also unknown.  There is NO map for this route.  This is a blind journey.  If you get on, you have no idea where you'll end up.  Sure this train could lead to a happy place with peace.  But it could also be heading straight for the middle of no where and leave you standing empty handed.  You don't get to know which.

Who would get on such a train?!  Common sense and logic lends no reason to climb aboard and sign yourself up for such uncertainty.  Self preservation whispers, "Walk away - duh."

Why get on this train?  Continue to imagine the train.

Already seated on this big train are children.  Little children.  Children who had no say in the matter. They were uprooted and forced to climb aboard.  Sure there is the engineer and a handful of conductors and railway stewards who do their best to attend to and shuffle around these children.  But when a child is put on this train, nobody is sitting next to them.  Nobody is telling them that the scary parts of the ride won't last forever. Nobody is reading them stories or helping to entertain and distract them while they wait the unknown allotment of time. - "Walk away" wasn't an option for them.

And so we ride.  We have climbed aboard.  The word "we" brings tears to my eyes.  Because I couldn't climb aboard without bringing my family along with me.  They are enduring the smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts right along with me.  We don't know where we are going to end up.  Or how long it's going to take to end up there.  But we ride.  So that two little people don't have to ride alone.

Their needs are great.  Mostly just because they are so young.  Meeting their needs has meant that I've had to put a lot of things "on the back burner."  I've had to put put so many things on the back burner, that some things have fallen off the stove top completely.  (I told ya I'm a sucker for an analogy.)  Blogging my thoughts and memories is one of those things.  I've finally gotten a few other pressing things off my to-do-list.  I hope to be able to make time in the next few weeks to continue to write more.