On Documentation
My husband and I began the process of becoming foster parents in June of 2023. Let’s just say, it is arduous. I have a folder on my computer with 66 files on it. Yes, 66, like the same number of books in the Bible, documents on my computer to show that we will be suitable foster parents. And this does not include the binder of hard copy paperwork that we turned in over a week ago. Or the other binder of hard copy paperwork that were completed during our interviews.
These forms are intense in and of themselves. They dig into every aspect of your life – financial, sexual, relational – and they try to root out all past trauma and hurts.
But we have made it. We turned in (maybe) the last form a week and a half ago. We completed our final home study and have gotten our acceptance letter in our inboxes.
It’s only the beginning.
But we haven’t really made it. Once we have a child in our home, we need to document every medication, how many hours they play outside, and much more.
As we have been completing this mountain of paperwork, I have been thinking about the importance of documenting life. Yes, we will document many aspects of our lives when we have a child in our care, but honestly, it doesn’t feel like those things will truly reflect what our lives will be like. Therefore, I wanted to start this Substack to document the real things that are happening.
Welcome to our paper trail.
An important note about this Substack: I will not be sharing age, gender, name, or any other identifying details about our children. The focus will be on what we are learning through this process. Their story is theirs, and they should be able to tell it how and when they want.