Here is a thing you may not know about me if we interact primarily online: I’m a foster parent.
Well, I was, until around 10:30 this morning, which is when a judge decreed that my spouse and I are now the legal parents of our former foster son, who shall be known to the internet as Boy Wonder.
For legal and privacy reasons, I’ve been pretty quiet about this extremely important thing happening in my life, and that’s not likely to change. Now that the adoption is final, I’m no longer bound by the strict privacy laws forbidding foster parents from splashing their foster kids all over social media, but those laws exist for really good reasons. There’s an awful lot of saccharine clickbait out there painting foster parents as heroic saviors of damaged children and that’s not a narrative to which I care to contribute.
My son is in high school, and can decide for himself how much of his business he wants to share with the world. As someone with a moderate internet presence, I try to be particularly conscientious about not making that choice for him.
But I have his permission to share this post explaining that I am now the parent of a high schooler, so that I can talk about parenting, foster care, and adoption without having to use vague statements like “I work with teens.” (I do work with teens who are not my son, but sometimes I’m trying to say something that is specifically about foster care or parenting).
And while my son’s business is his business, I’m happy to talk more generally about the experience of adopting from foster care, and answer questions for folks who might be considering older child adoption. In fact, I have a few quick answers for you up front:
Continue reading “Personal News: I Have A Son”
Annalee Flower Horne 