You Know you are a foster parent when......

You know you are a foster parent when . . .
1)You open your garage door and passing cars stop, thinking all of the bikes, toys, and baby furniture means garage sale.
2)You go to a Foster Care meeting and everyone drives vans or station wagons, except for the small cars that belong to the social workers.
3)You get your exercise from walking or carrying the kids to time-out.
4)The K-Mart checker asks which school you are from, and you reply, ”We're a family.”
5)You spend more time with your washer and dryer than you do with your spouse.
6)Your heart is bigger than your brain.
7)Santa Claus gives you a key to a store and leaves milk, cookies, and Alka Seltzer for you.
8)You watch your 2-week placement go from crib to junior high.
9)You regard your toilet snake as a family pet.
10)Your local grocer tells you that if you ever move, he would like advance notice because he will have to lay off three employees.
11)Your personal stash of children’s clothing rivals that of the local Goodwill office.
12)The term “basically a good child with a few problems” doesn't mean the same thing coming from a caseworker as it does in the real world.
13)Saying goodnight resembles the end of the Waltons: ”Night, John Boy . . . Night, MaryEllen . . . Goodnight, Lizbeth, etc.”
14)Light switches, toilet handles, and door knobs last one year or less. Your idea of a “social life” is talking to the checkers at the local Wal-Mart.

This poem was sent to me as a foster parent a few years back. I laughed hysterically at it when I read. As the years have gone by I discovered how true it is. I was told on Tuesday that A and D would be leaving today...however, because my heart is bigger than my brain I said yes that they could stay just a little longer until they can find a suitable placement for them. So I am fearful that number 8 is going to come true...you will watch your 2 WEEK placement go from diapers to graduation. However, my social life has not yet gone to talking to the wal-mart checkers. David/Julia and I are on our way to Jeannine's wedding to enjoy some adult conversation (as well as the whirlpool)!!!