Crazy, Stupid, Love (A very long post)

Yesterday, an acquaintance of mine told me that she thought I was "crazy" for wanting to be a foster parent.  She is someone I've talked to frequently and, until her comment, someone that I had assumed was supportive of fostering in general and our plans to foster specifically. Her remark, said with a smile and a laugh, took me aback. Let me be clear: she is a sweet woman, who is kind, smart and insightful. Her rationale (that we are already raising a healthy, well-adjusted child in Pom and shouldn't risk messing that up) was her own and she's entitled to it. It just got me thinking...I wonder how many other friends and family members aren't so much "supportive" of our plans as they are "silent" about their reservations?

Just What Do You Think You're Doing?

Since our family is very much at the beginning of the foster parenting process, I think it's only fair that I explain who we are and what this blog will look like. There are some limitations to what and how I can post, and it's usually better to make the ground rules pretty clear up front to avoid any confusion in the future. With that in mind, here's a bit about the blog, our family, and our plan to foster:

Begin at the Beginning

Of all the questions I've gotten since deciding to become a foster parent, the most common is simply this:

"Why" is a tricky question, since answering it would involve a near-dissertation length lecture on my religious values, my politics, my parenting perspective and my professional life. And while I'm sure that I'll touch on each of these over the course of this blog, I've decided that the easiest way to start is not with WHY but with HOW.