05/27/2026
The empty beds and drawers.
There is a kind of heartbreak few people understand until they live it themselves — loving a foster child/ren as your own, only to watch them leave after becoming part of every piece of your life. After more than a year of bedtime routines, school mornings, holidays, laughter, and healing, the word “temporary” no longer feels real. They become your child/ren in every way love can make possible.
When a foster child/ren moves permanently to family, there is joy in knowing they are gaining roots and connection, yet grief quietly follows behind it. No one can truly prepare you for the silence left in a bedroom once filled with life, or for the ache that settles into ordinary moments. The loss is not only felt by me, but by my own children. My children didn’t ask for this life, but they have made me so proud for accepting each child as their sibling and loving them unconditionally.
People often celebrate the happy ending, but they rarely see the emptiness that remains for the family saying goodbye. Loving a child/ren deeply while knowing they may someday leave requires a strength that is both beautiful and painful. A resource mother learns that love sometimes means letting go while carrying the memories forever. Even when the home feels quieter and the loss feels heavy, the love shared never disappears. It simply becomes part of who you are. We love you Konnor & Suzie! 💙❤️
