Grandparent’s Day is Sunday, September 13 and we at Boost a Foster Family want to take this opportunity to do a BIG Shout Out to all our kinship foster families headed by a grandparent…or Great Grandparent!.
Meet Maria W. who is raising three of her grandchildren alone in Gilbert. We first received a referral for her in January 2020 and were able to surprise her with a beautiful basket of goodies donated to Boost from Cost Plus/World Market right before Easter. This month we visited her home several times delivering a toddler bed for her grandson. Her lovely home was just right for her when she moved in, it actually felt spacious, but now the toddler bed is set up at the foot of her bed and the other children are in the spare rooms and her “retirement” house for one is now accommodating four. Despite Maria just recovering from surgery, she had spent several hours that morning out with her grandchildren at a “bounce” play center so she (and they) could meet up and spend time with Maria’s youngest granddaughter who is placed with another family. “I get to just be her grandma” Maria shared, “without all the responsibility of 24 hour care, on-line schooling, rules and disciplining.” But her fear of the children being separated, or her losing contact with them all together keeps her going even on the hard days, and willing to be their care provider day in and day out. Like many other grandparents raising grandchildren, there will probably be no bouquet of flowers delivered to her on Sunday recognizing her heroic efforts to be that steadfast loving presence to her grandchildren, so we just want to say THANK YOU TO MARIA, and to all the other grandparents out there fostering their grandchildren, for all you do, for all your sacrifices, for all the love your grandkids receive from you and for your willingness to provide them with the best environment possible during this challenging season of their lives. What you do makes all the difference!