National Storytelling Week: A Fostering Tale

A fostering tale for National Storytelling Week…

National Storytelling Week

Once upon a time lived a woman named Chloe, who lived in a lovely little three-bedroom house right at the end of a cul-de-sac. Her husband was a maths teacher at their local school, while she worked part time at a nearby café so that she could always be there to pick up and drop off their five-year-old son, James. Chloe grew strawberries in her back garden, loved cuddles with her pet cat and chasing her little boy around. They always spent their summers at the beach. Life was perfect.

But something was missing.

Chloe loved James with all her heart, but she had more love to give. She heard stories on the news about children who had been through terrible ordeals and felt like she could do more.

“These children deserve love,” she thought to herself. But something always held her back from picking up the phone. How would it effect James? Would she have to give up her beloved cat, Charlie? Would it mean no more trips to the beach?

She pondered and pondered, wondering what the right thing to do was.

Then, one glorious summer day, while she was busy planning their annual trip to Newquay her husband returned from work in a foul mood, bringing in the storm clouds with him. After some persuading, he finally confessed. There was a boy in his class who he’d noticed coming in with bruises on his skin. The boy had been able to conceal them easy enough during the winter months, but the warmer weather had made them increasingly difficult to hide. Authorities had been called, but her husband remained frustrated that he couldn’t do more. He told her with the long summer holidays coming up, he feared what would happen to the boy.

Chloe took this as the sign she had been waiting for. That night, after James had his bath and was soundly asleep, she sat her husband down and gave a confession of her own. She too wanted to do more for children who had experienced hardship. They talked long into the night.

Summer came and went. While James had played in the sand, Chloe imagined another child playing by his side, a child who’d never seen the sea before. Chloe had been researching every free moment she had, there was adoption, but something kept drawing her back to fostering. She could help more children that way, older children. Something stirred deep inside of her every time she looked at James. They weren’t perfect, but she knew her son had a good life. There was always food in their cupboards, she greeted him from school every day with a smile, and he slept in a clean, warm bed every night.

By the time September came, as she was seeing James off into his first day of year one, her lingering concern was for James if they decided to foster. When her and her husband had discussed the subject with James, he was elated about having someone at home to play with. But she knew it was more complicated than that, James couldn’t understand what these children have been through, couldn’t anticipate not having all of her attention, she couldn’t predict how they would react to him.

Then, she came across a fostering organisation called Capstone Foster Care, and a story on their website that spoke about the fostering family. The more she read, the more it resonated in Chloe’s mind. The lady, Saiqa, had the same motivations as she did, she wanted to open her heart and her family. In the story, Saiqa had her own young children and actually spoke about the positive effect it had on them, how it had made them more empathetic, caring individuals. Chloe’s heart soared. She loved how many lives Saiqa had touched.

That night, she spoke to her husband. They’d had many conversations over the last few months, she’d spent hours researching. But tonight, her husband said two words which would change their lives forever. “Call them.”

Celebrating National Storytelling Week. Are you ready to finish your own fostering story? Call Capstone Foster Care today and speak to one of our friendly advisors.