Children

This is really just random thoughts that I have been carrying around with me for the last year or so.

Sometimes I wonder if I am odd or weird. So many people I have talked to really seem interested in foster care when their kids get a little older. I have know a few people who have done it and it sounds so hard. I think they are some of the most wonderful people I know and anyone who would bring children, not theirs, into their home is one of the most selfless things a person could ever do. I just don't think I could. I really have no desire, and figure I have a hard enough time keeping up with my own kids I just could never bring myself to do it. Which leaves me to wonder if I something is wrong with me.

It also seems to be at odds with the HUGE mothering instinct I have for children. Especially kids who need a mom or some extra love. I have puzzled over what I could do instead of actually bringing more children into my family. I remember after Katrina hit and there was so many displaced people that I called a number to see if there was anything I could do to help. If I could give someone a place to sleep and food to eat for a week or so. But if I remember correctly I think they wanted a longer time period, or we were just poor college students and didn't have the room in our small house. I also did have my friends husband live with us for a couple of months in the winter before the family moved over so he wouldn't be living out of his car. So there seems to be a strong desire to mother and help and take care of those that may need it.

I have come to the conclusion that I may not have the patients or the desire to have any more kids of my own let alone someone else's, but my kids seem to make friends with children that seem to need a little extra love. So my goal is to be kind and smile and complement the kids that come through my yard or door. And just hope that it is enough for now. I have found that even the kid that seem annoying or a trouble maker are sometimes the ones that really could use a smile and a kind word. Sometimes they just seemed craved for attention and love. And when you get to know them they don't seem quite as annoying, or you understand some of the trouble they cause. I have seen that when I am nice to them they seem more drawn to me and to my kids, and I am okay with that. I don't have a problem setting up boundaries, and rules. I don't mind sharing a little of my love to them either. We had a friend last year who wanted to come over and play on Christmas day. I told her it was going to be a family day, but I wondered if she was just so excited for Christmas, or if she was craving something different. Marcus also seems to fix up bikes and tires for friends too. I also don't think that every child that passes through needs some love, but it never hurts right?

In A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett - Sara a very rich little girl tells Becky a poor serving girl:

"Why," she said, "we are just the same-I am only a little girl like you. It's just an accident that I am not you, and you are not me!"

And that is how I feel about children in different situations. We are all just the same and God loves us all that same as well. So why should I pick and choose just to love the easiest of kids, and not all of them that seem to pop into our lives.