Along came G

Oh G.  If you can imagine a 2 1/2 month old baby that is ready to compete!  She was a born competitor.  She loves to hear about the day she came into our house.  Daddy took one look at her and said "She is beautiful-I'm never going to let her leave."  And beautiful she was.  And what a fireball!  She had 2 brothers to keep up with right off the bat and there was no leaving her behind. She walked at 8 months old, she toilet trained herself before she was 2, she picked out her own clothes, did her own hair.  She was very, very independent and knew what she wanted.  She did come as a foster child initially-so as much as we fell in love with her it was our job to care for her while CAS worked with her biological family to see if re-unification was a possibility.  But how could we help but love her.  She was such a high energy kid.  She loves all living creatures-especially dogs!  For her first few years we loved G like our own but had to stay guarded at the same time-she was our foster child and at anytime could be taken from us.  I will never forget the day the social workers called to say that they had got Crown Ward on her-I was crying so much I had to get off the phone.  This is it-now she can be ours.  We can love without restriction.  I would love to say there is no difference between your feelings for a foster child versus your own child-but I'd be lying-there is a difference.   I always have my guard up.  It might not be fair-to us or to the child-but it is the truth.  It's protection.  Many, many people have said that they could never be a foster parent because they could never let them go.  But you have no choice.  You have to find a way to love and loose.  And it does hurt.  I have always said that if    I am to be a good foster mom I have to love them like my own-no matter how much it hurts to let them go.  But now G was ours.  I could love without restriction.  I almost felt I had to start a new bonding with her-a mother daughter bond.  A friendship,  a forever love.  She was about 2 1/2 when we bought a home out in the county and it had a big crab apple tree in the back yard.  She figured out how to climb it within a day.  Her method for climbing out of her crib was to shimmy up the rails and then jump from the top rail free style into the middle of the room.  G hated clothes-well most clothes anyway.  She hated tags, seams, embroidery, anything that made her feel confined.  When she went to kindergarten the teacher spoke to me quite concerned one day about G not having socks on-I told her she hated socks-it wasn't a battle that I felt was worth it-but they were always in her backpack if she felt it was necessary.  At a very early age she knew what she liked and what she didn't-and she would tell you.  Anything physical that she has tried she has done well at.  She began playing hockey at the age of 9 and is a natural-and loves it!  Hubby and I took G to the high school today to register her for grade 9.  I can't believe our baby girl  is now 14yrs old and is heading to high school.  She has struggled with a learning disability throughout grade school but she is determined not to look "different" so she pushes herself to keep up.  She is a fantastic hockey player, runner, tennis player.  She has an eye for style, and has lots of friends.  Our daughter, our little girl who is so quickly turning into a beautiful young woman.