What do you have a baby call you who sleeps in your home and has stolen your heart? When phrased this way, the answer seems so obvious. But nothing is so simple in Foster Care.
In the beginning, we agreed on 'Mama Debbi' and 'Dada Matt'. But that feels so odd and unnatural. I don't want to treat Baby differently. But there's a subtle reminder in attaching our names that I think I may need. We are so in love and settled with our current reality, that I worry the kids may forget about the uncertainty of the future, as I know I have.
Last week, Charlotte told her teacher she had 3 siblings. I quietly attached an extra sheet on her Getting to Know You form to explain our "situation." I began to worry we hadn't done well enough describing foster care to our kids. But then Matt overheard the girls talking: "Right now, we have 4 kids. When Baby Boy goes to live with his family, we'll have 3 kids again. He might stay with us for a long time. Baby Girl is going to stay with her Foster Mom until it is safe for her to go back home..." THEY GET IT. They truly do. And yet,
the unknown future doesn't keep my kids from fiercely loving this amazing little guy.
So where does that leave me? I still don't know. As with all hard parenting decisions, I'll probably make the kids decide.
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