Picture it: 2020, a year of chaos, violence and uncertainty across the globe. I moved back home mainly for family reasons but also the pandemic, with plans not to stay long. My motherās childhood friend called her up to let her know her grandchild had been taken by social services. Her son and pregnant daughter-in-law were both former addicts who had apparently fallen off the wagon, with the daughter-in-law having gone into labor and acting strangely at the hospital. They tested her and it came back thru the roof for meth.
Because of this, cps immediately took custody of their 1.5 year old son. Now, my momās friend was distraught and claimed that she wouldnāt qualify as a guardian for her grandson because she had a minor previous charge on her record and that the state was āout to get herā. I suspect there was something about her criminal history that she wasnāt telling us. But she assured my mom that her son (the childās father) would surely pass a drug test (we didnāt know he was still using at the time) and that all of this would be over in a matter of days. They didnāt want baby to go into the foster care system so my mom agreed to take him in, with the understanding that it would only be for the weekend and my moms friend would be watching him most of the time.
Well, dad ended up failing his drug test and grandma wasnāt exactly a reliable caregiver afterall. So we ended up caring for the baby longer than anticipated, about 6 weeks in total. During all of this, the pregnant meth mom ended up giving birth to a baby girl who had to stay in the NICU because she was premature. My mom and I had been properly vetted and deemed fit to foster by cps. In the process of the parents bringing over babyās stuff to our house, meth mom ended up stealing my moms credit card from her purse and using it to buy drugs :) needless to say, the parents couldnāt get their shit together in time and no other family members were able to take him in. My mother and father were separated at this point and my mom and I worked full time, so she really didnāt have the time or capacity to care for a baby long-term.
So we ended up having to give him back to cps, which was truly sad. By this point i had moved away to take a new job elsewhere. My mom and her childhood friend havenāt spoken much since this incident. I still think about the kid and hope his parents have gotten clean and were reunited. One thing I can say, despite the parents having a history of addiction, it was clear they loved their son very very much and seemed to be desperate to regain custody of him. This gives me hope that they were able to get their shit together and get him back. It also showed me a bit about what it was like to foster and itās something I would consider doing again in the future, when Iām better prepared to do so.
Mar 12, 2025
Related Recs
Mar 23, 2025
š§æ
My mother was at the park with my dog. She noticed there was a guy in a motorcycle passing through the sidewalk. She believed the man was trying to snatch a phone from someone's hands.
Turns out, he was trying to steal a child. She was two years old or so, walking a short distance away from her mother who had another baby in her arms. The mom started yelling Help! They're trying to steal my daughter!, while running after her.
My mother and another woman walking by started yelling as well. The guy got so scared he ended up leaving the child because a bunch of people turned around to see him. My mother said the kid was only kicking and crying. How traumatic. I'm glad the baby didn't get taken away. Who knows what he would have wanted her for? Be careful with your children.
Jan 27, 2025
š¼
i have two under two and iāve never felt more vulnerable or in love with the world despite the calamities! iāve never had more empathy or patience or compassion for all living things! iām also so tired and hormonal rn so donāt make any rash decisions but so far itās working for me ā
ps. pregnancy and labor and delivery physically went very smoothly for me. i had freaky ppd the first time around but so far this time is just overwhelmingly wonderful?? results may vary.
Apr 16, 2025
Top Recs from @beangirl94
Mar 26, 2025
šŖ
Oh, you wanted me to do this enormous task in an impossible amount of time? No u didnāt :) Iām actually not gonna do that, and good luck finding someone who will :-)
Feb 24, 2025
Especially a smaller conference with your professional and academic peers where everyone else is as passionate about your niche nerdy topic as you are. People will be super cool and supportive and excited to hear what youāve been up to. And in the best of cases youāll get to hear good feedback from well established and respected scientists!
Mar 20, 2025