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As you know, the Midwest has been ravaged by thunderstorms and flooding for almost two weeks now. It has been a nightmare for all of us, although we have fared better than most.
The things that are precious to me were not affected, or so I thought. A couple of years ago we were trying to sell our house and we packed up things that we did not need and moved them to a shed. Among them were some photos and scrapbooks. I thought they were safe from the storms because they were up high, but the box had tipped over. My heart nearly broke in two when I walked into the shed to look for something today and discovered the upended box.
The reason for my heartbreak is the scrapbooks of Kory and Mackenzie were the most affected by the water. We have set up a make shift drying area after going through each page and salvaging what photos we could. Fortunately, we had switched to digital cameras about the time Mackenzie came, so many pictures are reproducible, but some are not. Right now I am waiting to see if the Polaroid picture that was the first picture I ever saw of Kory will dry and still be OK.
My kids are far more fortunate than most. When they left my home, I sent a CD full of photos along with them. There is a copy of every photo that I have that went with my kids. They have not lost their photos. I have only lost some of mine.
There are many foster children who are not so lucky. Photos do not travel with them. Kory has no pictures from his life before us. There are a couple of photos that I received from his previous foster mom that went with him, but that is it.
What of the families that have suffered far worse flooding than we have? We did not have water in the first floor, so my computer was safe. Had my computer been destroyed, many things would be gone. I do periodically back the pictures up to CD and keep those in a safe, but not everyone does this and the people who suffered more flooding may not have been able to get those precious memories out.
Foster children lose so much in their lives losing what few tangible things they did have can have a devastating effect on them. Imagine losing your “family” over and over again and the only things that are consistent are the paltry belongings that you have.
A foster parent is supposed to make a lifebook for the foster child that goes with them to each new home, chronicling their life in foster care and the people who were important to them. Imagine losing this in a flooded home. All the history of your life destroyed.
For most of us losing photos and our things is a hard thing to bear. It’s even harder for the foster child.
Photo credit – Kelly L. Killian
