Who knows?
In their four years of serving as resource parents for Angels Foster Family Network, Megan and Steve have learned to embrace these two simple words. Will they be able to keep their weekend plans? Who knows? What will happen next with their placement’s case? Who knows?
That’s not to say they have a laissez-faire attitude towards life. Megan and Steve are just extremely adaptable, a skill they say is important for fostering little ones. “You have to be willing to just go with it, you can’t have a lot of baseline anxiety,” Megan says.
Megan and Steve have plenty of experience, both working with children and being flexible. He is a special education teacher for middle schoolers; she is a pediatric nurse. The couple met volunteering at Camp Reach For The Sky, a weeklong sleepaway camp in Julian for children with cancer. Diagnosed with cancer at 18 months old, Megan had been a camper at Camp Reach For The Sky for many years before becoming a volunteer counselor. A friend told Steve about the camp and he decided to volunteer. He’d never been to summer camp and the mission was a laudable one. “I went to the library and gained all of this information on childhood cancer and then didn’t use any of it because no one there talks about cancer, they’re just having fun,” he recalls with a laugh.
They continued volunteering at the camp while they dated and after they married. It was there, in fact, the couple first heard about Angels Foster Family Network. One of the staff nurses mentioned she would be attending an information session and Megan and Steve said they wanted to join. “Kids have always been part of the plan,” Megan says, explaining the couple explored adoption, but they felt a connection with the work Angels was doing. “The vibe was very welcoming, and you’re definitely wanted and needed. I constantly tell people we need more people to foster,” says Steve.
Megan and Steve’s first placement, twin toddlers, Jac and May May, spent two years in foster care before the children became eligible for adoption. Like everyone who serves as resource parents with Angels, Megan and Steve fully support children’s reunification with their families, but in some cases, it is not possible. When the couple was given the chance to adopt the twins, who are now 6 years old, they jumped at it.
They celebrated the adoption by taking a family vacation to Disney World in Florida. Then all four agreed that it was time to foster again. Jac and May May were excited about caring for “Baby JJ” who has been with the family for the past year. Megan and Steve were eager to open their home to another child in need of stable, loving care. “There are days that are trying because it’s hard seeing children suffer from choices others have made,” Steve says “but it’s rewarding because we’re doing something good in the world. We enjoy the warm fuzzies, hanging out with kids, having picnics, walking the neighborhood and reading books.”
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